It is extremely rare for world-famous orchestras to tour with Flemish soloists, but in autumn 2022 this exceptional honour falls to clarinetist Roeland Hendrikx (°1969). With the London Philharmonic Orchestra he performs in Heerlen, Antwerpen, Brugge, Groningen, and Utrecht the Clarinet Concerto by W. A. Mozart in a concert that also features Wagner's Tannhäuser Ouverture and Elgar's Enigma Variations on the programme.
Roeland Hendrikx was principal clarinetist of the Belgisch Nationaal Orkest until 2017. Since then he has devoted himself as a soloist and chamber musician to clarinet repertoire in the broadest sense of the word. Hendrikx is praised for his rich tone and captivating storytelling, but also for his commitment to Belgian and contemporary music.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham. Since then it has been led by the greatest names in the conducting world, including Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, and Georg Solti. In September 2021, young British conductor Edward Gardner became chief conductor of the Philharmonic. He leads the orchestra during the autumn tour.
With Roeland Hendrikx the London Philharmonic recorded the clarinet concertos by Mozart, Bruch and Finzi in 2018 in an acclaimed recording for Evil Penguin. According to De Standaard, the fact "that Hendrikx managed to engage London's most adventurous orchestra was in itself a tour de force. That it sounds excellent on top of that is even greater. His Mozart is a treasure trove of listening pleasure". The leading French publication Diapason gave the maximum score to a recording that according to them "has everything: accuracy, lyricism, elegance".
For Hendrikx, this tour fulfils a childhood dream: "Some children dream of becoming firefighters or pilots. I wanted to become a professional clarinetist and give concerts with major orchestras all over the world. It has turned out even more beautifully: I was allowed to record three concertos with a top orchestra that are close to my heart. And that wasn't the end of it: in 2021 the Philharmonic invited me to go on tour; corona initially put a spoke in the wheel, but this autumn it's finally happening".
Roeland Hendrikx has recorded beautiful CDs, but this man's expressive talent manifests itself especially on stage: those who want to see the miraculous chemistry between Hendrikx and London come to life should not wait too long to buy tickets…