Martin Fröst
Biography / Clarinet
Clarinettist, conductor and Sony Classical recording artist, Martin Fröst is known for pushing musical boundaries and has been described by the New York Times as having “a virtuosity and a musicianship unsurpassed by any clarinettist — perhaps any instrumentalist — in my memory”. Fröst has performed with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester […]
Martin Fröst
Clarinettist, conductor and Sony Classical recording artist, Martin Fröst is known for pushing musical boundaries and has been described by the New York Times as having “a virtuosity and a musicianship unsurpassed by any clarinettist — perhaps any instrumentalist — in my memory”. Fröst has performed with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, New York Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra and Orchestre National de France, and regularly collaborates with leading international artists including Sol Gabetta, Yuja Wang, Leif Ove Andsnes, Janine Jansen, Maxim Rysanov and Antoine Tamestit.
In September 2019 Fröst commences his tenure as the Chief Conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. Starting with a presentation of his acclaimed project Genesis at Örebro Konserthus, the rest of the season features programmes that explore the music and life of Mozart through his travels. This will be part of an extensive four-year touring venture dedicated to Mozart’s historic footprint in Europe’s musical capitals, set to be recorded by Sony Classical. The project will be the orchestra’s first comprehensive green tour initiative, making use of rail travel across Europe.
Notable collaborations in the 2019/20 season include Fröst ‘s Artist-in-Focus residency with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under the baton of Paavo Järvi and his conducting debut with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. This year he returns to Wigmore Hall for a recital with pianist Roland Pöntinen and performs his signature clarinet concerto Peacock Tales by Anders Hillborg with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Hall. In spring he embarks on a recital tour in Italy with pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, followed by appearances with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Tour partners for the upcoming season include Orquestra de Cadaqués in Spain and the NDR Radiophilharmonie with concerts across China.
In 2018 Fröst presented his third collaboration with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Retrotopia. The third of a series of multifaceted projects that challenge the norms of the traditional concert setting, Retrotopia had successful performances last season in Bamberg with the Bamberger Symphoniker and Frankfurt with the hr-Sinfonieorchester. Other highlights of the 2018/29 season included, amongst others, appearances with the BBC Symphony and Basel Symphony Orchestras, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and his conducting debut at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw with the Philharmonie Zuidnederland. In summer 2019 Fröst recorded his third album for Sony Classical, a set of Vivaldi arias transcribed for the clarinet, marking a unique exploration into the possibilities of the instrument in the baroque operatic repertoire.
A keen advocate of the importance of music education, Fröst recently launched the Martin Fröst Foundation with the support of the world’s largest manufacturer of wind instruments, Buffet Crampon. The purpose of the organisation is to provide resources that can improve and enable children’s and young people’s access to music education and instruments, as well as develop the classical concert form for future generations. The Foundation aims to join forces with non-profit organisations and various sponsors across the world, having already established presence in Kenya and Madagascar.
Winner of the 2014 Léonie Sonning Music Prize, one of the world’s highest musical honours, Fröst was the first clarinettist to be given the award and joined a prestigious list of previous recipients including Igor Stravinsky, Daniel Barenboim and Sir Simon Rattle.
Season 2019/20
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