Emil Jonason - clarinet, basset clarinet Helsingborgs Symphony Orchestra Stefan Solyom - dirigent Emil Jonason has been described in the Swedish, European and American press as "The Yngwie Malmsteen of the clarinet", "Has the aura of a Rockstar", "Raises the bar for what you can expect from a clarinet" and as "A magician who uses his instrument that breaks classical norms like a silver bullet ”. He has played as a soloist with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Musica Vitae, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Weimar Staatskapelle, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra in the USA, Symphony Orchestra Vlaanderen and many more in Sweden and abroad. In 2019, Emil won the Kaleidoscope International Vocal and Instrumental Competition in Los Angeles, USA. From over 1,600 applicants from all over the world, Emil was chosen to play Emmy Lindström's clarinet concerto “At the Hills of Hampstead Heath” at the finals, and emerged victorious. He was the only clarinetist, and Emmy's concerto was the only contemporary piece of music selected for the finals. Emil also teaches at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, and at the Music and Opera Academy, at Mälardalen University in Västerås. The music on this CD aims to celebrate the very heart of the modern clarinet, ranging from its birth with Mozart’s concerto from 1791, all the way to Lindström’s further exploring of the instrument’s emotional, expressive and versatile range. Emmy and Emil are married for more than ten years, and she has written several pieces for him: the clarinet concerto being the most recent, and “Song About Em” being the very first from 2006. The clarinet concerto “At the Hills of Hampstead Heath” was commissioned by four Swedish orchestras and had its premiere together with Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra in 2017. The concert was broadcasted live on Swedish Radio, it has been highly praised in the press and Emil has performed it more than ten times throughout Sweden and Finland. In 2021 Emil will perform a brand new version of the piece together with the string orchestra Musica Vitae in Växjö, Sweden. The hyper-romantic “Song About Em” for clarinet and strings was written as an encore to Emil’s performances of the Mozart concerto. “Em” symbolises the common letters of their names.