Lindberg Chamber Works Anssi Karttunen

• Magnus Lindberg (1958): Trio for clarinet, cello and piano (2008)
• 1I. Sound big, sound08:19
• 2II. Like the tranquility we seek05:38
• 3III. Crash wave, crash05:33
• Santa Fe Project (Konzertstück) for cello and piano (2006)
• 4I.06:20
• 5II.03:08
• 6III.04:54
• Partia for cello solo (2001)
• 7I. Sinfonia03:41
• 8II. Coranto02:10
• 9III. Aria02:35
• 10IV. Boria02:03
• 11V. Double01:12
• 12VI. Giga02:06
• Dos Coyotes for cello and piano (1993/2002) - Arrangement of “Coyote Blues” by Anssi Karttunen and Magnus Lindberg
• 13I.05:25
• 14II.01:22
• 15III.04:06
• 16IV.01:07
• Total Runtime59:39

Info for Lindberg Chamber Works

These world première recordings combine four of Magnus Lindberg's chamber works from the 2000s, although the roots of one of them go back to the 1990s.

Magnus Lindberg's composer personality has always been coloured by a strong sense of practical musicianship. It is evident in his orchestral works and concertos in his rich instrumental invention and the demanding yet gratifying and idiomatic instrumental parts. The same applies to his chamber music works, but here the musicianship aspect is even more evident especially in more recent works, which Lindberg has written specifically for himself to perform on the piano. Magnus Lindberg has written many pieces for clarinetist Kari Kriikku and cellist Anssi Karttunen, two important figures in contemporary music scene in Finland. The Clarinet Trio, including fine reminiscences of Brahms and Ravel, now brings together these two musicians with the composer himself on piano.

Hailed by the New York Times as 'A physically flamboyant player of Olympian virtuosity...', Kari Kriikku has been a living inspiration behind a great number of remarkable Finnish compositions for the clarinet. On stage and through recordings, he has championed concertos and chamber works written for him by Kimmo Hakola, Jouni Kaipainen, Magnus Lindberg, Uljas Pulkkis, Kaija Saariaho, and Jukka Tiensuu. Above all, Kari Kriikku has premiered the entire output for clarinet by Magnus Lindberg. His recording of the Clarinet Concerto earned him both a Gramophone Award and a BBC Music Magazine Award in 2006.

Anssi Karttunen is a passionate advocate for contemporary music. He has performed over 125 world premieres, collaborating with such composers as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Rolf Wallin, Luca Francesconi, and Tan Dun. An astounding 24 concertos have been written for him, among them Magnus Lindberg's cello concerto premiered with the Orchestre de Paris, and Kaija Saariaho's concerto Notes on Light.

“the music seems to combine Lindberg's newly acquired expressive generosity with the harmonic logic and lucidity that's always been characteristic of his work.” (The Guardian)

“The performance quality, with the composer and two of his longest-standing collaborators, is unimpeachable and Ondine's radiant sound completes a superb issue.” (Gramophone)

Anssi Karttunen, cello
Kari Kriikku, clarinet
Magnus Lindberg, piano

Anssi Karttunen
is one of the most renowned and versatile musicians in the classical music world today and enjoys a busy career as a soloist and chamber music player. He performs on modern cello, classical and baroque cellos and on violoncello piccolo. Anssi Karttunen performs all the standard cello works, but has also discovered many forgotten masterpieces and arranged a number of pieces for cello. He is a passionate advocate of contemporary music and his collaboration with composers has led him to give over 50 world premieres of works by composers such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho (including Notes on Light in 2007, which he recorded; ODE 1130-2), Rolf Wallin, Luca Francesconi and Tan Dun.

Anssi Karttunen has worked with outstanding orchestras such as Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony, London Sinfonietta, NHK Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, SWR Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Ensemble Modern, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orchestra, Dutch Radio Philharmonic, Dutch Radio Chamber Ochestra, Barcelona Opera Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Danish Radio Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, RAI Torino, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Avanti! and many others. He performs at major festivals in Europe including Edinburgh, Salzburg, Lockenhaus, Spoleto, Berlin, Venice, Montpellier, Strasbourg and Helsinki.

Anssi Karttunen was born in 1960. His teachers included Erkki Rautio, William Pleeth, Jacqueline du Pré and Tibor de Machula. Between 1994 and 1998, he was Artistic Director of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. He was also Artistic Director of the 1995 Helsinki Biennale and the Suvisoitto-Festival in Porvoo, Finland from 1994-1997. From December 1999 to June 2005, Anssi Karttunen was Principal Cellist of the London Sinfonietta. He has also appeared as conductor: in February 2000 he conducted Lindberg's Kraft in Antwerp on short notice and in January 2003 he led the Los Angeles Philharmonic Cello Ensemble. Anssi Karttunen plays a cello by Francesco Ruggeri.

His teachers included Erkki Rautio, William Pleeth, Jacqueline du Pré and Tibor de Machula.

Karttunen plays a cello by Francesco Ruggieri in Cremona circa 1670.

Booklet for Lindberg Chamber Works