Martin Fröst

Acclaimed Swedish clarinettist and conductor, Martin Fröst is proud to announce his brand-new album, B.A.C.H. dedicated to the music of JS Bach.  Bach’s music has fascinated Fröst throughout his life, being enchanted and beguiled by its intimate form, even at a very young age.  Although Bach never encountered the clarinet, this has proved no barrier for Martin Fröst, who has returned to Bach’s music time and time again throughout his illustrious career.  In the past, Fröst devised performance programmes entitled "Beyond All Clarinet History" (B.A.C.H.), which intertwined Bach’s timeless melodies with new arrangements and he returns to this original idea here with sparkling new interpretations both for clarinet and a variety of other instruments, such as bass, cello, and theorbo that form the linchpin of his new "B.A.C.H." album, to be released by Sony Classical.

One of a small handful of truly international wind players, Martin Fröst mesmerizes audiences throughout the world, whether performing concertos especially written for him or core repertoire such as the pieces presented here.

‘The fantastic thing about art and music is that one can pose questions and conjure up visions at the same time.’ The words are those of the Swedish composer Jesper Nordin, who does exactly that in Emerging from Currents and Waves. A large-scale work for orchestra, clarinet soloist, conductor and live electronics, Emerging… is a collaboration between Nordin, Martin Fröst and Esa-Pekka Salonen. All three are interested in how new technology can – and will – influence art and artistic expression, and in exploring the intersection of mankind, music and technology.

With Night Passages Martin Fröst fuses a centuries-spanning selection of music, from the famous to the rare, into highly original arrangements for clarinet, bass and piano. With his unusual ensemble he touches the genre of jazz, folk and turns traditional Baroque favorites by Bach, Scarlatti, Handel and Rameau into original arrangements. He also sends greetings from his home country, Sweden, with music by Romantic composer Hugo Alfvén and the traditional Polska from Dorotea. Martin Fröst is widely recognized as an artist who constantly seeks new ways to shape, challenge and rebuild the classical music arena and, together with Miles Davis, the only wind soloist to have received one of the world's highest music honors; the Léonie Sonning Music Prize.