Håkan Hardenberger

Håkan Hardenberger has achieved renown as one of the world’s greatest trumpet soloists. Hardenberger performs with the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Wiener Philharmoniker, Swedish Radio Symphony, London Symphony, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and NHK Symphony Orchestra. Conductors he regularly collaborates with include Pierre Boulez, Alan Gilbert, Daniel Harding, Paavo Järvi, Ingo Metzmacher, Andris Nelsons, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and David Zinman.

Alongside his phenomenal performances of the classical repertory, Hardenberger is held in high regard for his pioneering of significant and virtuosic new trumpet works. The works written for and championed by Hardenberger stand as key highlights in the trumpet repertoire and include those by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Hans Werner Henze, Rolf Martinsson, Olga Neuwirth, Arvo Pärt, Mark Anthony Turnage, Rolf Wallin, and HK Gruber. He has performed Gruber’s concerto Aerial more than sixty times.

Hardenberger was born in Malmö, Sweden, where he began studying the trumpet with Bo Nilsson at the age of eight. He continued his studies at the Paris Conservatoire, with Pierre Thibaud, and in Los Angeles with Thomas Stevens. He is a professor at the Malmö Conservatory and the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.