Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Conductor
Kari Kriikku, Clarinet

Experience the extraordinary and moving Symphony No. 4 (“The Inextinguishable”), celebrating its centenary, by Danish composer Carl Nielsen as well as the United States premiere of Hakola’s Clarinet Concerto performed by Finnish soloist Kari Kriikku. Written during World War I, “The Inextinguishable” is one of Nielsen’s most dramatic pieces, featuring a battle between two sets of timpani. Also featured on the program is Cataclysm, a piece by this year’s Glick Young Composer Competition winner Daniel Temkin.

• At 30 years old, Santtu-Matias Rouvali has thrilled audiences around the globe for years. In addition to his native Finland, Rouvali has performed with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, BBC and Finnish Radio symphony orchestras and the Tokyo Symphony.

• Clarinetist Kari Kriikku, a fellow native of Finland, has been described by the Nordic Council Music Prize committee as “an extraordinary virtuoso on the clarinet. His performance is characterized by flexibility and a positive musician’s joy – he is a musician in the best sense of the word.”