
PHOTOS & REVIEWS
An outstanding soloist.
San Antonio Express New
Physically and spiritually one with his instrument..
Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm
Sensitive, colorful and magical.
Neue Zeit, Berlin
Concerto Reviews
At the end came a Clarinet Concerto (Op. 5) by Bernhard Crusell (1775-1838), a Finnishborn, Swedish-based clarinet virtuoso. This concerto revealed Crusell to have been a considerable talent within the borderline Classical-Romantic style of his time. And Håkan Rosengren, a Swedish clarinetist, delivered a most convincing account of the solo part.
New York Times
Rosengren combines a facile virtuosity with a sensitive musicality that permits him to reinvent his performance each evening [in Weber’s First Concerto].
24 Heures, Lausanne, Switzerland
One and a half year ago it [Nielsen’s Concerto] was performed in the Berlin Schauspielhaus by clarinetist Sabine Meyer; she emphasized the brooding and lightly furious, modern gestures of the piece. The no less superb Håkan Rosengren found just as precisely the temperamental and fickle musical spirit [of Nielsen’s Concerto]. With his sensitive, lingering, colorful tone, and with his magical, light technique, he brought everything under one large singing arch of expression.
Neue Zeit, Berlin
Håkan Rosengren plays with his whole body and is, both physically and spiritually, one with his instrument. With a temperament verging on savagery he brought out the madness shown by Nielsen in the clarinet. I can hardly remember hearing such a brilliant performance of this mind-blowingly difficult concerto.
Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm
One of the highlights of the Sunday fixture was Håkan Rosengren’s superb playing in the Werner Wolf Glaser Clarinet Concertino.
Belfast Telegraph
Rosengren rounded out the evening displaying wizardry in Carl Maria von Weber’s Concerto no. 1 in f minor.
The Odessa American, Midland-Odessa, Texas
An outstanding soloist, clarinetist Håkan Rosengren brought elegant style and impressive technique to the Crusell Concerto.
San Antonio News Press, Texas
It wouldn’t take much arm-twisting to make a listener concentrate on Rosengren’s extraordinary musicianship. Rosengren plays with terrific presence. His tone pops out with a remarkable pinging quality, and he supports it so sturdily that the lines just flow, regardless of what register he is in or crossing into. Rosengren picked up on the autumnal quality of the Crusell’s slow movement. It would be a coup for the orchestra to lure back this charismatic player for another engagement.
Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio
Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto was interpreted magnificently by Håkan Rosengren.
Jydske Tidende, Sönderborg, Denmark
Rosengren’s technical mastery of his instrument provided the channel for a profound emotional experience.
Hufvudstabladet, Helsinki
Mr. Rosengren is a phenomenal virtuoso; he makes his instrument speak with an almost human voice. For his playing in Rossini and Crusell, he received ovations that never wanted to stop.
Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm
Håkan Rosengren was soloist in two works for clarinet and orchestra, Rossini’s “Introduction, theme and variations” and the Opus 5 Clarinet Concerto by Finland’s first composer with an international reputation, Bernhard Crusell. This 1817 work is a true masterpiece on the level of the Weber concertos written at the same time – good musical thought is in perfect balance with fun virtuostic demands. Rosengren’s full-toned, dazzling playing could not be faulted.
New York Daily News
Every phrase, every detail lived through him word-for-word in his mind with precise articulation and convincing expression.
Vecernik, Bratislava, Slovakia
The greatest experience of the concert was given by the clarinet soloist Håkan Rosengren. Rosengren is in the deepest sense a natural musician, intensely engaged in everything he does, and has an extremely wide dynamic range complemented with flawless technique.
Gothenburg Post
Rosengren made the most of what may be Mozart’s most beautiful concerto. Producing a rich, eloquent tone, he played lucidly and intelligently, particularly achieving a supernal grace in the slow, almost inexpressibly tender second movement.
Savannah Morning News
Rosengren has an immediately memorable musical personality. His technique is excellent, his tone is beautiful and he draws a great variety of color from the instrument.
New York Times
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Los Angeles Times
Christian Science Monitor
Hufvudstabladet, Helsinki
Auditorium, Seoul, South Korea
Pasadena Star, Los Angeles
Santa Fe Journal, New Mexico
There is no distance between the man and the clarinet. The tone seems to be produced from within his soul. The engagement is total. Rosengren has no limits, neither in technique nor in expression. The visionary musicality gives the playing its final touch and transforms ability and knowledge into art.
Politiken, Copenhagen
Santa Barbara News Press, California
The Orange County Register
Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm
Rosengren’s musicality did not seem subject to comings and goings; it informed everything he did, and made one listen intently to each piece. He phrases like a good singer, knowing, for instance, how to diminish and linger just a delicious bit as the accompanimental harmony shifts under him.
New York Times