Martin Fröst is an international clarinettist, conductor and Sony Classical recording artists, renowned as one of the finest exponents of the clarinet in the world at present 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”. His repertoire encompasses mainstream clarinet works, as well as a number of contemporary pieces that he has personally championed, with notable commissions including Anders Hillborg’s Peacock Tales and Jesper Nordin’s Emerge. 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 and Sir Simon Rattle.
Renowned for his multimedia performing projects in collaboration with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, in recent years Fröst has presented Dollhouse, Genesis and most recently Retrotopia – his latest project to perform both as soloist and conductor in a musical journey that explores new repertoire and challenges the traditional conventions of classical concerts. In recent years he has made successful conducting steps with the most important being his appointment as Chief Conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra from the 2019/20 season. Together they will focus on a music journey that explores Mozart’s historic footprint in Europe through his travels. The project, set to be recorded by Sony Classical over a period of four years, will be the orchestra’s first comprehensive green tour initiative, making extensive use of rail travel across Europe.
As a soloist, Fröst has appeared in some of the world’s most important concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Konzerthaus Berlin and he has toured in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Fröst has performed with some of the world’s greatest orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Orchestre National de France. He regularly collaborates with prominent international artists, including Yuja Wang, Leif Ove Andsnes, Roland Pöntinen, Maxim Rysanov, Antoine Tamestit and Sol Gabetta, as well as performs in international events such as Verbier Festival in Switzerland, Mostly Mozart in New York and Tsinandali Festival in Georgia.
Following successful residencies in the 2018/19 season in Bamberg with the Bamberger Symphoniker and Frankfurt with the hr-Sinfonieorchester, in 2019/20 Fröst features as Artist-in-Focus with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under the baton of Paavo Järvi. Concerts will be given in cities across central Europe, with Fröst performing one of the mainstays of his repertoire — Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto. Other notable collaborations this season include his conducting debut with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, his return to the Barbican Hall with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, a recital tour in Italy with pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, as well as orchestral tours China with the NDR Radiophilharmonie and in Spain with Orquestra de Cadaqués. Guest appearances include the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.
source: https://www.martinfrost.se/biography/
