Kaija Saariaho is a magician in sound. (...) The recordings are excellent, capturing this rich yet elusively textured music without a hint of artificiality.
Stephen Johnson, BBC Music Magazine, January 2012, Performance***** / Recording*****
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra partner Kriikku admirably in this enchanting concerto and under Oramo's sensitive direction provide beguiling accompaniments for Anu Komsi in the four Leino Songs (...). Ondine's demonstration sound caps a marvellous issue. Recommended.
Guy Rickards, Gramophone, December 2011, 'Editor's Choice'
The FRSO explores the alternately disorienting and familiar sound worlds of Saariaho's scores.
Doyle Armbrust, Time Out Chicago, 13.12.2011, 'Best Classical Albums 2011'
The (...) clarinet concerto (...) performs enough Gershwin riffs and virtuosic tricks to command full attention for half an hour - and if you haven't heard Kari Kriiku do his stuff, you must. (...) Best of all is a short, fluttery set of four Leino Songs for very high voice (...) The sound, too, is impressive.
Norman Lebrecht, La Scena Musicale, 27 November 2011
This is a superbly produced recording from the Ondine label. Justly celebrated as one of the leading composers of our time, this varied and deeply fascinating programme is as good a place as any to become acquainted with (Kaija Saariaho's) remarkable universe of expressive sonority and mystical depth.
Dominy Clements, MusicWeb-International.com, November 2011
Mystik, klangsinnlighet och överskridande återkommer hos Kaija Saariaho.
Lars Hedblad, Svenska Dagbladet, 5.10.2011
(...) eine Musik, die unerhörte imaginäre Räume öffnet, die scheinbar durch mehrere bis dahin unbekannte Dimensionen wandert und den Hörer auf einen Weg mitnimmt, von dem er sich bisher nichts hat träumen lassen. (...) Es ist nicht die banale Schönheit populistischer Machart, sondern die Schönheit eines unbeugsamen ästhetischen Anspruchs, der sich aus sich selbst heraus rechtfertigt - und dabei unmittelbar überzeugt. (...) Sehr empfehlenswert!
Hartmut Lück, Klassik Heute, 28.09.2011
Luulisi, että klarinettimestari Kari Kriikku ei voi enää ällistyttää enempää kuin on jo lukuisissa konserttolevytyksissä tehnyt. Mutta kyllä voi.
Markku Viitasaari, Ilkka, 28.9.2011
Kriikku's playing of the phenomenally demanding solo part is no less impressive on disc than (...) in the hall.
Martin Anderson, Finnish Music Quarterly, 3/2011