Martin Fröst
Biography
Clarinetist, 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 appeared with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics, Philharmonia Orchestra and Orchestre National de France. In 2016/17, he will make his debuts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (Osmo Vänskä) and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (Edo de Waart). He also returns to the Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival (Paavo Järvi), NHK Symphony Orchestra (David Zinman) and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, with whom he will also tour Europe. Future tour partners include the BBC Symphony Orchestra; last season Fröst also performed Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in Leipzig, Paris, Vienna and London with Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Riccardo Chailly and toured to Spain with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra (Thomas Dausgaard). Further ahead, he also appears with Gothenburg Symphony, Shanghai Symphony and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Last season Fröst embarked on a multi-year project entitled ‘Genesis’ which explores the source and development of music inspired by dance and folk, music drawn from sacred rituals of praise and music as pure entertainment. The first stage of the project ‘Roots’ saw its first public outing in December 2015 with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and was released worldwide by Sony Classical. This first recording for the label received huge critical acclaim and in August 2016 it was announced that Fröst would receive the Instrumentalist of the Year Award: Clarinet from ECHO Klassik for it. Fröst performed works from the recording at the BBC Proms in the Park, Northern Ireland as part of the 2016 BBC Last night of the Proms. This season he will take ‘Roots’ on tour giving performances with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, and throughout Europe with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta in Rome, London and Amsterdam. Known for his artistic collaborations worldwide, Fröst is currently Artistic Partner with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Last season also saw the beginning of a three-year partnership with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. With both orchestras this season he will launch ‘Exodus’ – the next phase of the Genesis project. The programme focuses on musicians in exile and will include works by Ligeti, Verdi, Golijov and a new work by Borisova-Ollas. These positions follow his success in recent seasons as Artist-in-Residence at the Netherlands Philharmonic, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Gothenburg Symphony and London’s Wigmore Hall. As a chamber musician, Fröst regularly performs with leading international artists including Sol Gabetta, Janine Jansen, Yuja Wang, Leif Ove Andsnes, Roland Pöntinen, Maxim Rysanov and Antoine Tamestit. In May 2014 Martin Fröst received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize, one of the world’s highest musical honours and the first clarinetist to be given the award. He joins a prestigious list of previous recipients including Igor Stravinsky, Daniel Barenboim and Sir Simon Rattle.
Current album
B.A.C.H.
Artists Martin FröstRelease Date: 10/24/2025
“…a virtuosity and musicianship unsurpassed by any clarinettist — perhaps any instrumentalist — in my memory”
New York Times on 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 on October 24, 2025.
"B.A.C.H." was recorded in an extraordinary setting: an old wooden chapel set in the Swedish countryside, purchased, restored, and turned into a studio and concert venue by Fröst himself and which provided the perfect environment for this extraordinary musical adventure which features a range of fascinating artists including Sebastien Dubé — double bass, Göran Fröst — viola, Anastasia Kobekina — cello and Jonas Nordberg — lute alongside a special guest appearance by Benny Andersson of ABBA on piano on the closing track.
Martin Fröst has spoken openly about his experience living with Ménière’s disease — an inner ear disorder — and it was during a particularly intense bout of the illness that he suddenly experienced the desire to perform JS Bach’s music again. Working in the converted chapel together with his brother, viola player Göran and alongside some close and trusted musician friends, Martin Fröst and the team crafted the arrangements as they rehearsed and by Christmas 2024, they were ready to record. It was an intense process, whereby everyone involved lived, ate, rehearsed, recorded and slept in the chapel, even producer, Hans Kipfer, who took up residence in the choir loft for the duration.
The choice of JS Bach’s music for the recording is based on some of Fröst’s favourite pieces that have been with him constantly throughout his own musical expeditions. The Prelude in C major, BWV 846, heard here in the form of the Ave Maria, is a remarkable musical exercise — both musically and technically — since one cannot play the clarinet for two minutes and forty-six seconds on a single breath. It’s a piece Fröst has been playing for as long as he can remember. The track also features the much-lauded young cellist Anastasia Kobekina, who features throughout a great deal of the recording.
With this unique, inventive album, Martin Fröst guides the listener through the enduring landscape of Bach's music. It is an album born of moments of challenge, unexpected discovery, and profound collaboration. Its narrative of connection and the sheer joy of the music and of the collective music-making will hopefully resonate keenly with all who listen.
