I have known clarinetist and composer Roger Arve Vigulf since March, 2001. That year I was working at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic and Mr. Vigulf was invited to perform as a soloist with the National Vilnius Quartet. There were three concerts scheduled in Lithuanian cities, and all of them were a great success. The fact that Mr. Vigulf became a regular guest soloist with the National Vilnius Quartet is the best proof of it. In addition, during the following years we have started performing together and established professional performing partnership with Mr. Vigulf. In 2004 together we started international festival of music and ecology “The Land of Disobedient”. An annual event was taking place in Neringa during the first two weeks of July. The Festival’s ensemble would perform seven or eight thematic programs, ranging from Baroque to free improvisation.The Festival was also especially keen on presenting contemporary music. Mr. Vigulf was not only a founding member of the group, but also for many years remained essential part both as very adaptable, flexible highest quality clarinetist and excellent composer with his independent ideas and very personal voice. In total I have known Mr. Vigulf for good two decades and want to attest to his highest professional qualities both as clarinetist and composer, his full devotion to music and his personal qualities that were allways attuned to the necessities of the group. Rokas Zubovas, pianist and Artistic Director of the festival “The Land of Disobedient”
Rokas Zubovas: Artistic Director of Disobedient Festival in Nida - LT(2005-2020)
The work - Birds never stop Singing, by Roger Arve Vigulf Roger Arve Vigulf has written a rich and sonorous work, where the clarinet is a natural and playful centerpiece. It is primarily characterized by an organic contrast between a romantic tonal language and a much more contemporary soundscape, both parts handled with great confidence and proper craftsmanship by the composer. A continuum in loudspeakers with bird chirping is laid down in a wonderful way as a sound environment for several parts of the piece, where the clarinet forms a natural mediator between the birdsong and the music. The string quartet's playing is impeccable. It is constantly actively participating and weaves itself in a spatial play between background and foreground, in dialogue with the clarinet. This is an impressive work, where Vigulf gets to show what a phenomenal clarinetist he is, through music that also documents that he is a skilled composer. Bjorn Kruse Professor Emeritus at the Norwegian Academy of Music 06.07.2021
Bjorn Kruse: Professor Emeritus - The Norwegian Academy of Music
"The best soloist I have ever heard" (T.Fredriksen - Fremtiden) "The heart bursts into song" (S.E.Tandberg - Toensberg Blad) "Roger Arve Vigulf, the distinctive clarinet virtuoso and wonderful chamber musician, became the celebrity of the evening".(Karina Firkaviciute - 7 days of Art - Lithuania) "Roger Arve Vigulf, a technical virtuoso, with a sense of color and extroverted commitment". (Martin Haug - Drammens Tidene) "Entre deux trains for clarinet and strings had whimsical subtleties that Roger Arve Vigulf and the Hansa Quartet solved in an appealing way". (Espen Selvik - Bergens Tidene) "Remarkable clarinet CD, one should note the name straight away". (Trond Erikson - Smaalenene) "What raised Mozart to the musical Heaven was soloist Roger Arve Vigulf's clarinet playing. Just as rhythmically dancing musically as his figure, with a tone you rarely experience. Effortless virtuoso, his nuances in dynamics and colouring, his lovely phrases, Mozart with depth perspective, with delicate warmth and bubbling excess".(Martin Haug - Drammens Tidene) "Clarinet Ultimatum"contains 18 miniatures (Cadenzas) for clarinet composed and performed by Roger Arve Vigulf. The recording shows a performer with extreme control over his instrument, dynamically, technically and expressively, and Vigulf demonstrates a virtuosity and playfulness that is quite rare " (Bjorn Bolstad Skjelbred - Composer / Musician) "Clarinet Ultimatum formal glows of magical poetry. The work is masterfully composed and shines with light and virtuosic communication skills. A gem of a CD!" (Aase Hedstroem- Composer, former Chairman of the Norwegian Composers Association) "Roger Arve Vigulf is a clarinetist of international caliber. I first got to know him when he sat next to me as a substitute in The Norwegian Radio Orchestra and later as a soloist in various contexts, especially chamber music where he has had ample opportunity to develop himself. As a performing soloist, he is to be found among the foremost, especially when it comes to newer music of a high level of difficulty". (Retired - Olav Lundgren - Former solo clarinetist in the Wiener Volksoper, The Norwegian Opera, The Norwegian Radio Orchestra)
Newspaper critics and musicians, composers: Newspaper critics and musicians, composers