Martin Fröst (born 14 December 1970) is a Swedish clarinetist and conductor.
As a clarinetist, he performs internationally and is considered one of the most renowned instrumental soloists ever.
He is the first clarinetist to be awarded one of classical music's biggest honours,
the
Léonie Sonning Music Prize.
other recipients include
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
,
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
,
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
,
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Moses Barenboim (; born 15 November 1942) is an Argentines, Argentine-Israeli classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin, who also has Spain, Spanish and State of Palestine, Palestinian citizenship. From 1992 until January 2023, Bare ...
and
Gidon Kremer. He is also the only wind player ever to have been appointed Artist in Residence with the Amsterdam's Concertgebouworkest (for the 2022/23 season).
He was appointed principal conductor of the
Swedish Chamber Orchestra in 2019.
Fröst has performed as soloist with most of the leading orchestras of the world, including the
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...
,
Concertgebouworkest,
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
,
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
,
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
,
Munich Philharmonic, the
Elbphilharmonie Orchestra,
NHK Symphony Orchestra
The is a Japanese broadcast orchestra based in Tokyo. The orchestra gives concerts in several venues, including the NHK Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall.
History
The orchestra was founded as the ''New Symphony Orchestr ...
,
Vienna Symphony
The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, ) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the Theater an der Wien.
History ...
,
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and
Orchestre de Paris
The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris.
History
In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du ...
.
Fröst 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.
Fröst redefines what it means to be clarinetist in the 21st century and redefines what an orchestra can be.
Early life and education
Fröst was born in Uppsala, Sweden.
As a youth, he began musical studies on violin at age 5. At age 9, he started to learn the clarinet.
He switched to clarinet after hearing a recording of
Jack Brymer playing Mozart's
Clarinet Concerto
A clarinet concerto is a concerto for clarinet; that is, a musical composition for solo clarinet together with a large ensemble (such as an orchestra or concert band). Albert Rice has identified a work by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli as possibly th ...
.
Fröst studied with Sölve Kingstedt and Kjell-Inge Stevensson on the
Royal College of Music, Stockholm and with
Hans Deinzer on the
Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media.
His first concerto performance was at age 17 with the Swedish Royal Academy of Music Orchestra.
Career
As a clarinetist, Fröst has performed with many orchestras in Europe, the US, Japan, and China. From the 2006–07 to 2008–09 season, he was an artist in the "Junge Wilde" series at the Konzerthaus Dortmund. Regarding his repertoire, Fröst says: "I have actually played just about everything that is right and good for the clarinet."
This also includes works by contemporary composers who wrote them especially for him, for example
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
,
Krzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...
,
Anna Clyne
Anna Clyne (born 9 March 1980) is an English composer resident in the United States. She has worked in both acoustic music and electroacoustic music.
Biography
Born on 9 March 1980 in London, Clyne began writing music as a child, completing her ...
,
Anders Hillborg,
Kalevi Aho,
Rolf Martinsson,
Bent Sørensen,
Victoria Borisova-Ollas,
Karin Rehnqvist and
Sven-David Sandström. Conductors he has worked with include
Kirill Petrenko
Kirill Garrievich Petrenko (, Latin script: ; born 11 February 1972) is a Russian-Austrian conductor. He is chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic.
Early life
Petrenko was born in Omsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, to a violinist father and m ...
,
Riccardo Chailly,
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish conducting, conductor and composer. He is the music director of the San Francisco Symphony and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Sw ...
,
Gustavo Dudamel
Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor. He is currently the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is scheduled to become the Music and Artistic ...
,
Alan Gilbert,
Paavo Järvi
Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian conductor. He has been chief conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle since 2020.
Early life
Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia (then occupied by the Soviet Union), to Liilia Järvi and the Estoni ...
,
Klaus Mäkelä,
David Zinman,
Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Lahav Shani,
Alain Altinoglu,
Nicholas Collon,
Maxim Emelyanychev,
Jakub Hrusa,
Hannu Lintu
Hannu Petteri Lintu (born 13 October 1967) is a Finnish conductor.
Early life and education
Hannu Lintu was born in Rauma, the son of Johannes Lintu, an electrical engineer, and his wife Lilja Lintu (née Toivonen), a photographer. He studied p ...
,
Andrew Manze,
Gianandrea Noseda
Gianandrea Noseda (born 23 April 1964) is an Italian conductor. He is currently the music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.; general music director (''Generalmusikdirektor)'' of Zurich Opera; principal guest condu ...
,
Jonathan Nott,
Sakari Oramo, and Osmo Vänska. Chamber music partners include
Janine Jansen,
Sol Gabetta,
Yuja Wang,
Quatuor Ebene,
Antoine Tamestit,
Leif Ove Andsnes,
Lucas Debargue,
Roland Pöntinen, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider and Joshua Bell.
His younger brother Göran also writes for him, especially klezmer music. In 1998 Fröst broke new ground with performances of Anders Hillborg's clarinet concerto "Peacock Tales" with elements of mime and dance, a piece that had performed over 300 times worldwide.
Fröst was artistic leader of the Swedish Vinterfest music festival for 10 seasons, concluding his tenure in 2015. He became joint artistic director of the Stavanger International Chamber Music Festival in 2010, and served in that until 2015. He has been a conductor-in-association with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Partner with Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and has held multiple residencies at the Wigmore Hall in London.
He was Artist in Residence in the season
* 2018-2019 with the
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and the
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
The Bamberg Symphony (German: Bamberger Symphoniker – Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie) is a renowned German orchestra top-class orchestra that has been residing in Bamberg since its foundation in 1946 and travels the world as a touring orchestra. ...
* 2019-2020 with the
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
* 2022-2023 with the
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, established in 1888 at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). It is considered one of the world's leading orchestras. It was known as the Concertgebouw Orchestra u ...
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
.
* 2023-2024 with the
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
On 5 January 2023 the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra hosted the world premiere of the clarinet concerto ''Weathered'', by the British composer
Anna Clyne
Anna Clyne (born 9 March 1980) is an English composer resident in the United States. She has worked in both acoustic music and electroacoustic music.
Biography
Born on 9 March 1980 in London, Clyne began writing music as a child, completing her ...
, who lives in the United States, with Fröst as soloist, performance time: 27 minutes.
In the 2025-2026 season, Fröst will be Artist in Residence with the
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester.
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
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially.
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...
(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
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
– Clarinet Concerto & Quintet (SACD 1283, 2003)
*
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
– Works for Clarinet & Piano (CD-944, 2003)
*
Vagn Holmboe – Concertos for Piano, Clarinet and Oboe; Beatus Parvo (CD-1176, 2004)
*
Brahms – Clarinet Sonatas & Trio (SACD-1353, 2005)
*
Karin Rehnqvist – Arktis Arktis! (CD-1396, 2005)
*
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
– Clarinet Concertos (SACD-1523, 2006)
*
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer.
Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...
&
Kalevi Aho Clarinet Concertos (SACD-1463, 2007)
*
Christopher Rouse – Orchestral Music (CD-1386, 2008)
*
Bernhard Crusell
Bernhard Henrik Crusell (15 October 1775 – 28 July 1838) was a Swedish people, Swedish-Finns, Finnish clarinetist, composer and translator, "the most significant and internationally best-known Finnish-born Classical period (music), classical co ...
– 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)
* 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
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
(Sony, 2020)
* Martin Fröst & Friends – Night Passages (Sony 2022)
Awards
* 1st Priz
Geneva Competition(1997)
* Nippon Music Award (1997) for the recording of the clarinet concerto by Carl Nielsen
*
Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award 2003
*
BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist (2003–2005)
*
Litteris et Artibus (2012)
*
Léonie Sonning Music Prize (2014)
*
ECHO Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year Award in the category clarinet, for the CD "Roots" (2016)
*
Opus Klassik (2021), Instrumentalist of the Year Award in the category clarinet, for the CD "Vivaldi" (2019/2020)
Projects
Every two to three years since 2013 Fröst has staged a project in which he works as clarinetist, conductor, lyricist, "master of ceremony",
actor and occasionally as a dancer. He performs in collaboration with the
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset.
History
The orchestra was foun ...
, composers, choreographers and lighting technicians. The projects presented are named Dollhouse, Genesis, Retropia and Xodus. With his projects, Fröst is both: a trendsetter and a bearer of tradition, opening new doors for what classical music can entail.
Dollhouse (2013)
At
Dollhouse, compositions by Göran Fröst,
Paul Dukas
Paul Abraham Dukas ( 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His best-k ...
, Bent Sörensen,
Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was a Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20t ...
and Anders Hillborg, as well as choreography and light, became one unit. It was Fröst's first collaboration with the lighting designer and choreographer
Linus Fellbom. The world premiere was in October 2013 with a duration of approx. 1:35 h.
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
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...
in the footsteps of
Petrushka and
Pinocchio
Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
."
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
Hildegard of Bingen OSB (, ; ; 17 September 1179), also known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner ...
,
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. "Its all connected, and the music also reflects people", says Fröst.
The performance lasts ~1:42 h.
Retropia (2018)
Retropia,
Retro
Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture.
Definition
The term ...
and
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
, 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'' 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.
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."
The premiere was on 18 May 2018 in Stockholm. The performance lasts approx. 1:45 hours with the addition of the Klezmer dance No. 2 for clarinet and string orchestra by Göran Fröst.
Xodus (2022)
A year late due to the pandemic, the project, originally
Exodus, came on stage under the name "XODUS (The Way Out Lies Within)" on 5 May 2022 at Stockholm's
Konserthuset
The Stockholm Concert Hall () is the main hall for orchestral music in Stockholm, Sweden.
With a design by Ivar Tengbom chosen in competition, inaugurated in 1926, the Hall is home to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. It is also wh ...
with the participation of more than 100 people and live painting on a large screen, performance time about 75 minutes.
Texts with English subtitles and live images are by the multi-artist
Jesper Waldersten,
very well known in Sweden. Fröst performed as a clarinetist, conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and a chamber choir,
and again as "master of ceremonies." Konserthuset has posted a video of the performance online, as well as a brief introduction indicating all the music titles arranged for this work. These include compositions by
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
,
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
,
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...
,
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...
and
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
on the one hand, on the other hand, contemporary pieces by the Swedish composers
Hans Ek,
Anders Hillborg, Goran Fröst,
Annamaria Kowalsky, as well as an arrangement of traditional pieces by the Spanish clarinettist and arranger
Alberto Álvarez García. The Swedish lighting designer
Linus Fellbom, who works mainly in theater, opera and dance, provided lighting design and direction.
One review says: "Musician Martin Fröst and artist Jesper Waldersten push the boundaries of what a classical concert can be."
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.
Personal life
Fröst lives in
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
with his wife Karin (née Berglund) and 2 children.
References
External links
Martin Fröst's official facebook websiteHarrison Parrott agency biography of Martin FröstSvensk Konsertdirektion AB agency biography of Martin Fröst
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra biography of Martin Fröst'Facing the music: Martin Fröst'. ''The Guardian'', 2 February 2015Jim Farber, 'Martin Fröst: The Color of Clarinet'. San Francisco Classical Voice blog, 6 June 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Martin
1970 births
Living people
Swedish classical clarinetists
Litteris et Artibus recipients
Recipients of the Léonie Sonning Music Prize
Winners of the Geneva International Music Competition
BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists
20th-century clarinetists
21st-century Swedish clarinetists
21st-century Swedish male musicians
20th-century Swedish male musicians
People with Ménière's disease
Musicians from Uppsala