Martin Fröst

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Not to be confused with Martin Frost.
Martin Fröst
At Hindsgavl Festival, Denmark 2017
At Hindsgavl Festival, Denmark 2017
Background information
Born (1970-12-14) 14 December 1970 (age 51)
Sundsvall, Sweden
Genres
Occupation(s)Clarinetist
InstrumentsClarinet
LabelsBIS,[1] Sony
Websitemartinfrost.se

Martin Fröst (born 14 December 1970) is a Swedish clarinetist and conductor. He is principal conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. He is also a developer of multimedia projects with music, choreography and light design, in which he appears as a clarinetist, conductor, copywriter and "master of the ceremony". He crosses musical and medial borders, willing to experiment.[2][3][4]

Early life and education[]

Fröst was born in Sundsvall, Sweden.[3] As a youth, Fröst began musical studies on violin at age 5. At age 8, he started to learn the clarinet.[4] He studied with Hans Deinzer in Germany and Sölve Kingstedt and Kjell-Inge Stevensson in Stockholm.

Career[]

Fröst's work in contemporary music includes collaborations with Anders Hillborg, Krzysztof Penderecki, Kalevi Aho, Rolf Martinsson, Bent Sørensen, Victoria Borisova-Ollas, Karin Rehnqvist and Sven-David Sandström. In May 2014, he received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize, the first clarinetist so honoured.[5]

Fröst was artistic leader of the Vinterfest music festival for 10 seasons, concluding his tenure in 2015.[6] He became joint artistic director of the Stavanger International Chamber Music Festival in 2010, and served in that until 2015.[7] He has been a conductor-in-association with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. In May 2017, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra announced the appointment of Fröst as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2019–2020 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons.[8]

In the United States, in October 2014, Fröst first appeared with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO). Based on this concert, in November 2014, the SPCO named Fröst one of its Artistic Partners, effective with the 2015–2016 season, with an initial contract of 4 years.[9] He was to have made his first appearance in the post in November 2015, but was unable to perform due to Meniere's Disease.[10] The effects of the ailment delayed Fröst's appearances as an SPCO artistic partner until February 2017.[11]

Albums[]

  • Penderecki (CD-652, 1994)
  • French Beauties and Swedish Beasts (CD-693, 1994)
  • Close Up (CD-744, 1997)
  • 'Hekas! – Östgöta Symphonic Wind Ensemble (CD-818, 1997)
  • Clarinet Concertos dedicated to Benny Goodman (CD-893, 1998)
  • The Pied Piper of the Opera – Opera paraphrases on the clarinet (CD-1053, 2000)
  • James MacMillan – The Confession of Isobel Gowdie (CD-1169, 2002)
  • Mozart – Clarinet Concerto & Quintet (SACD 1283, 2003)
  • Schumann – Works for Clarinet & Piano (CD-944, 2003)
  • Holmboe – Concertos for Piano, Clarinet and Oboe; Beatus Parvo (CD-1176, 2004)
  • Brahms – Clarinet Sonatas & Trio (SACD-1353, 2005)[12]
  • Karin Rehnqvist – Arktis Arktis! (CD-1396, 2005)
  • Weber – Clarinet Concertos (SACD-1523, 2006)
  • Nielsen & Aho Clarinet Concertos (SACD-1463, 2007)
  • Christopher Rouse – Orchestral Music (CD-1386, 2008)
  • Crusell – The Three Clarinet Concertos (SACD-1723, 2008)
  • Fröst & Friends (SACD-1823, 2010)
  • Martin Fröst – Dances to a Black Pipe (SACD-1863, 2011)
  • Martin Fröst – Plays Mozart (SACD-1893, 2013)
  • Martin Fröst – Roots (Sony, 2016)[13]
  • Martin Fröst, Lucas Debargue, Janine Jansen & Torleif Thedeen, Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) (Sony, 2019)
  • Martin Fröst & Concerto Köln – Vivaldi (Sony, 2020)

Awards[]

Projects[]

Every two to three years, since 2013, Fröst staged a project in which he works as a clarinetist, conductor, lyricist, "master of ceremony",[16][17] actor and occasionally as a dancer. He performs in collaboration with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, composers, choreographers and lighting technicians. The projects presented are named Dollhouse, Genesis, Retropia and Exodus.

Dollhouse (2013)[]

At Dollhouse, compositions by Göran Fröst, Paul Dukas, Bent Sörensen, Manuel de Falla and Anders Hillborg, as well as choreography and light, became one unit. It was Fröst's first collaboration with the lighting designer and choreographer . The world premiere was in October 2013 with a duration of approx. 1:35 h.[18]

The artist says on his website: "Dollhouse is very much about liberation, both in its physical and symbolical form, about the invisible threads that hold us to the earth, tie us together and can wear away. It is a concert with movement as its center, a metaphor in the footsteps of Petrushka and Pinocchio."[19]

Genesis (2015)[]

Genesis is a program of works from a millennium of music history, starting with Greek music of the 2nd century (Mesomedes) to compositions by Hildegard von Bingen, Telemann, Piazzolla, Messiaen, Lutoslawski and Hillborg, to name a few. In between folk music by Bartók and klezmer dances by Goran Fröst. Old and new music and music from all over the world are combined. "It’s all connected, and the music also reflects people", says Fröst.[20]

The performance lasts approx. 1:42 h.[20]

Retropia (2018)[]

Retropia, Retro and Utopia, looking back, but also designing future forms of music. In the retrospect, we hear the overture to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, followed by Beethoven's Fourth Symphony. The present of music depicts: Exodus: Departure for solo clarinet (premiere) by the Russian born composer Victoria Borisova-Ollas, who lives in Sweden, Angelus novus for chamber orchestra by the Swedish composer Jacob Mühlrad and Nomadia for clarinet and chamber orchestra by Göran and Martin Fröst, while the future is hinted at in Emerge for clarinet, orchestra and gestrument[21][22] by Jesper Nordin. Motion sensors on the clarinet ensure that every movement Fröst is converted into music. "In Emerge me and Martin have been trying to find the future of music, blend technology through my technology gestrument – gesture-instrument – where you can play on a virtual orchestra while playing on his clarinet and conducting the live orchestra and to find new ways of expression," says Nordin.[17]

Fröst: "The piece provides a gestrument, it is called 'Space in the Air' and contains music DNA. When I touch the air, it turns into sound, created by an infrared camera. I can play with my fingers in the air, for which I need a choreographer for the movements. And that, too, is a kind of future for music. At the beginning of the piece I say, where does the music go? Can I feel it? Is it going to the future? Can I touch her? And then I literally put my hand in the air between me and the audience and suddenly there is a sound. So it is a conversation between me, the gestrument, the room and the orchestra behind me. It's actually pretty exciting."[23]

The premiere was on 18 May 2018 in Stockholm.[24] The performance lasts approx. 1:45 hours with the addition of the Klezmer dance No. 2 for clarinet and string orchestra by Göran Fröst.

Exodus (2021)[]

Exodus, the latest project, is set to be a continuation of the Genesis project and will premiere on 3 June 2021 at Konserthuset in Stockholm.[25][26]

Martin Fröst Foundation[]

In 2019, Fröst set up a foundation whose goal is to give children and young people in Sweden and other countries the opportunity to receive music lessons and access to instruments.[27]

Personal life[]

Fröst and his family live in Stockholm, Sweden.

References[]

  1. ^ "BIS". Bis.se.
  2. ^ "Martin Fröst, ein musikalischer Grenzgänger (a musical border crosser)". AOL-Video (in German). Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b Brug, Manuel (13 February 2016). "Ich habe alles gespielt (I have played all)". Die Welt (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b George Loomis (31 August 2014). "A Clarinet Virtuoso on a Quest for New Experiences". New York Times. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Martin Fröst Receives The Léonie Sonning Music Prize For 2014" (Press release). Harrison Parrott. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  6. ^ Rebecca Schmid (10 February 2015). "Vinterfest, Dalarna, Sweden — review". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  7. ^ Solveig Grødem Sandelson (18 August 2015). "Jan Bjøranger overtar etter Martin Fröst". Aftenbladet. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Martin Fröst blir ny Chefsdirigent för Svenska Kammarorkestern" (Press release) (in Swedish). Swedish Chamber Orchestra. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Martin Fröst named as SPCO Artistic Partner" (Press release). Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  10. ^ Graydon Royce (3 November 2015). "Swedish clarinetist Martin Fröst cancels planned debut with St. Paul Chamber Orchestra". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  11. ^ Rob Hubbard (11 February 2017). "Martin Frost and his clarinet make a warm return to the SPCO". Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  12. ^ Andrew Clements (21 August 2014). "Brahms: Clarinet Quintet; Clarinet Trio; etc review – high-class playing from Martin Fröst and ensemble". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  13. ^ Erica Jeal (4 February 2016). "Martin Fröst: Roots CD review – persuasive performances". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  14. ^ "ECHO KLASSIK 2016 Winners" (in German). Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  15. ^ "OPUS KLASSIK". OPUS KLASSIK. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  16. ^ Philip Quiring (11 July 2016). "Der Zeremomienmeister (the master of ceremony". niusic.de (in German).
  17. ^ a b Rabillon, Katharina (28 June 2018). "Breaking musical boundaries: Martin Fröst's daring journey". euronews. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Dollhouse". www.konserthuset.se. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  19. ^ "DOLLHOUSE WITH MARTIN FRÖST – Martin Fröst". www.martinfrost.se. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Genesis". www.konserthuset.se. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Gestrument". www.jespernordin.com. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Gestrument | Interactive Music-making App | Play, Compose, Perform". Gestrument. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  23. ^ Elisabeth Schwartz (18 May 2018). "Es ist der schmale Grad zwischen Stille und Klang: Martin Fröst über die Seele der Klarinette (It's the fine line between silence and sound: Martin Fröst on the soul of the clarinet)". bachtrack.com (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Retrotopia with Martin Fröst". www.konserthuset.se. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  25. ^ "Exodus med Martin Fröst". Welma – din guide till Stockholms kulturutbud. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  26. ^ "Postponed: Exodus". www.konserthuset.se. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  27. ^ "HOMEPAGE OF". MARTIN FRÖST FOUNDATION - SUPPORT YOUNG MUSICIANS. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

External links[]

Cultural offices
Preceded by Principal Conductor, Swedish Chamber Orchestra
2019–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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