UK première of Concert Fantastique

2011-12-09 | After the successful performances in Stockholm, it was now time for the Brittish premiere of Rolf Martinsson´s Clarinet Concerto Concert Fantastique, written for Martin Fröst. The performance with the CBSO under Edward Gardner was met with great enthusiasm in the hall and the Birmingham Post and The Times wrote:
Fröst’s technical wizardry and engagingly extrovert musical personality make him the ideal interpreter of Swedish composer Rolf Martinsson’s Concert Fantastique which received its UK premiere with the CBSO conducted by Edward Gardner.
It was heartening to hear a contemporary work being greeted so warmly – deservedly so.
The attention-grabbing opening featured dazzling bravura passages for Fröst.
The concerto’s five sections are full of fantasy and contrasts, from a passage where Fröst plays a single tone for a minute without a break to a lush romantic melody 
Fröst’s jolly klezmer-inspired encore rounded off the concert’s first half perfectly.
THE TIMES
Fröst was certainly the star turn . ....he characteristically alll but danced his way through the Brittish première of his compatriot Rolf Martinsson´s Concert Fantastique.
....... a series of glittering showpieces and extended cadenzas with orchestral accompaniment. All the Fröst antics were there: remarkable agility, swirling scales, tornadoes of trills — even a full minute of sustained circular breathing. The concerto was exciting and easy on the ea r: ........  Read more >

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Fröst begins European tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra,

2011-11-30 |  Martin Fröst embarks on a European tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, performing clarinet concertos by Copland and Mozart. The tour will open with a concert in Vienna’s Musikverein on 30 November and will include performances at Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Antwerp, Luxembourg, Basel and Wilhelmshaven. The tour coincides with the release of Fröst’s recording with the Australian Chamber Orchestra for BIS.
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GRAMOPHONE`S MONTHLY SEARCH FOR THE BEST CLASSICAL MUSIC EXPERIENCE AROUND THE WORLD

2011-11-21 |  "A winter Wonderland of musical Delights variety,and conviviality at Sweden´s Vinterfest ”

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DANCE TO BLACK PIPE NO 1 ON SALES LISTS

2011-11-10 | Only two weeks after the release, Martin Fröst´s new recording Dances to a Black Pipe already storms in on the sales lists and is now No 1 on the official Swedish sales list for classical albums. Martin is already represented on this list on 5th and 7th place. Dances to a black Pipe is also remarkably high for a classical recording on the general list of all albums.

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CONCERT FANTASTIQUE

2011-11-07 | "Martin Fröst sprayed tones from his unrestrained clarinet"
Martin Fröst gave the Stockholm exciting première of Rolf Martinsson´s Concert Fantastique together with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic who commissioned this work for Martin together with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra. The Stockholm performances were an instant success for this highly demanding concerto. The UK première will take place later this autumn. Please listen to this colourful concerto:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj1fLR53A4M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCPw2XR_6xw&feature=related

The Stockholm press was as enthusiastic:
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MOZART/DUDAMEL/GOTHENBURG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

2011-11-06 | "Spellbinding.- Mr Fröst’s playing was so tender that he could almost have been holding a baby rather than a musical instrument. "
Martin Fröst collaborated for the 4th time with Gustavo Dudamel and the Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, playing Mozart´s Clarinet Concerto on a tour of Scandinavian capitals, including the new concert hall in Reykjavik, in September. A major new project with this orchestra is already in the planning.

Some press quotes:

MusicWeb International's Live Concert, Opera and Ballet Reviews
Having heard Martin Fröst previously in Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto, I had high expectations for the (admittedly very different) Mozart Clarinet Concerto. Mr Fröst has worked with early music specialists and chose to play a basset clarinet, which has a larger range than the modern clarinet and was the instrument Mozart wrote the piece for. Mr Fröst’s instrument was also softer (in both tone and dynamic) than its modern counterpart.
The result was spellbinding. Mr Fröst’s playing was so tender that he could almost have been holding a baby rather than a musical instrument. The excellent acoustic of the hall and the sensitive accompaniment by the orchestra meant that every note was heard and the balance was perfect. These qualities were on particular display in the second movement, where Mr Dudamel achieved a slow tempo without ever losing momentum and the GSO produced a beautiful sound, despite playing at the quiet end of their dynamic range. The third movement was almost playful, with fantastic playing by Mr Fröst especially in the quiet sections.
Mr Fröst’s encore was a special treat: the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria, accompanied by the section leaders of the GSO’s strings (and no conductor). Suddenly it was as if we were in a chamber concert; the playing was certainly of that standard. Mr Fröst played Bach’s arpeggios while the string soloists played Gounod’s melody.


Dagens Nyheter:

The….many voiced character continued with Martin Fröst as the soloist in W.A Mozart´s Clarinet Concerto. One of Fröst´s absolute showpieces which he and his basett clarinet – with its particular sound register – makes sound like an ensemble scene in an alternatively absurd and melancholy opera buffa.
Martin Nyström 15 September 

Please share the experience on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj1fLR53A4M
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DANCES TO A BLACK PIPE: UPCOMMING RELEASE

2011-11-06 | Martin Fröst´s successful collaboration with the Australian Chamber Orchestra continues when Martin embarks on a major European tour with this orchestra later this month , playing the Copland Clarinet Concerto as a follow up of the big tour of Australia last spring. The tour will include major European music venues like Vienna Musikverein and Amsterdam Concertgebouw and coincide with Martin´s much anticipated new release “Dances to a Black Pipe” where he has gathered music that in various ways relates to dance – by composers ranging from Brahms to Lutoslawski to Anders Hillborg Read more >

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