During his extraordinary 40‐year career as the world’s most prominent trumpet soloist, Håkan Hardenberger has not only pushed the boundaries of what can be achieved with the instrument; he has also inspired countless composers and fellow musicians to expand their horizons and explore unknown musical territories with him. His quest for excellence and innovation continues to this day, and he champions the finest works written for the trumpet by performing them with stunning virtuosity and sheer dedication to music.
Hardenberger performs regularly with the world’s leading orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Concertgebouworkest, London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and NHK Symphony Orchestra. Conductors he collaborates with include Marin Alsop, Alan Gilbert, Daniel Harding, Susanne Mälkki, Ingo Metzmacher, Andris Nelsons, Sakari Oramo, Sir Simon Rattle, François‐Xavier Roth, Jukka‐Pekka Saraste and John Storgårds.
Orchestral colours coalesce around the soloist Håkan Hardenberger, who played with silky eloquence. As if waking from an unsettled dream, I found its mood lingered after the final note.
Many works written for Håkan Hardenberger stand as cornerstones of what has become a vast repertoire thanks to his tireless commitment. These have included pieces by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Brett Dean, Helen Grime, HK Gruber, Hans Werner Henze, Betsy Jolas, György Ligeti, Olga Neuwirth, Tōru Takemitsu, Mark‐Anthony Turnage, Rolf Wallin and Jörg Widmann.
Notable engagements of the 2022/23 season include returning to Oslo Philharmonic with Dima Slobodeniouk, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden with Andres Orozco‐Estrada, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande with Daniel Harding and National Arts Centre Orchestra with John. He returns to Elbphilharmonie Hamburg with WDR Sinfonieorchester performing Widmann’s Trumpet Concerto, and tours Germany with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. Conducting and play‐directing now forms an integral part of Hardenberger’s musical activities, and he returns to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for a play‐direct programme. Further he appears at Royal Stockholm Philharmonic’s Broström Festival and Boston Symphony’s Tanglewood Festival and continues his collaboration with the Grafenegg Festival Academy where he performs, teaches, and mentors young musicians.
Throughout this performance the ear never tired: thanks not only to the quality of Hardenberger’s playing, his phenomenal breath control and range of dynamics as well as the tonal richness on display, but also the growing assurance that each step in the musical argument would always lead into tantalising new territory for the listener.
2021/22 was Håkan Hardenberger’s 60th birthday season which featured two extraordinary trumpet concertos: Jörg Widmann’s Towards Paradise, co‐commissioned by the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Helen Grime’s night‐sky‐blue, co‐commissoned by the Koussevitzky Foundation, Library of Congress, London Symphony Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. He appeared as ‘Artist Portrait’ with the London Symphony Orchestra, performing Betsy Jolas’ Histoire Vraies with Sir Simon Rattle in London and Paris, and giving country premieres of the Grime concerto in Germany and Denmark. Hardenberger performs regularly in duo with pianist Roland Pöntinen and percussionist Colin Currie. With the latter Hardenberger released a recording of duo works by Brett Dean, André Jolivet and others. The latest addition to his prolific discography on BIS features French trumpet concertos by Jolivet, Schmitt and Tomasi, as well as Jolas’ Onze Lieder. He has also recorded for Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca and EMI.
From 2016 to 2018 Hardenberger was the Artistic Director of the Malmö Chamber Music Festival. Born in Malmö, Sweden, he began studying the trumpet at the age of eight with Bo Nilsson in Malmö and continued his studies at the Paris Conservatoire with Pierre Thibaud and in Los Angeles with Thomas Stevens. He is a professor at the Malmö Conservatoire.