Music Web International: Recording of the Month February 2012; International Record Review: Oustanding February 2012; Opus Haute Définition: outstanding, October 2012: "This remarkable recording, not to be missed, distinguishes itself further from other releases by ending as it began, that is with the Concerto by Copland, with the finale and coda of the original version. This release is necessary to any collection".
Martin Fröst collaborates with the Australian Chamber Orchestra to explore the dynamic relationship between music and dance. Featuring compositions by Aaron Copland, Johannes Brahms, and contemporary composers like Anders Hillborg and Fredrik Högberg, this album highlights the rhythmic energy of clarinet-led performances. Fröst’s technical brilliance and innovative approach blend classical elements with modern influences, creating a vibrant musical journey across genres, from Hungarian folk to Klezmer tunes and avant-garde expressions. Directed by Richard Tognetti, this recording captures a unique dialogue between movement and melody.
Martin Fröst isn’t just one of the major clarinettists of our time – he is also an intrepid adventurer who challenges conventional notions of how classical music should be presented. He has played Bach-Gounod’s Ave Maria while doing figures-of-eight on roller-skates, performed the part of dancing soloist (wearing a bird’s mask) in Anders Hillborg’s clarinet concerto Peacock Tales, and is constantly giving new proof of his curiosity when it comes to repertoire that defies genres. True to form, he here presents, with the internationally acclaimed Australian Chamber Orchestra, a wide-ranging selection of works which are all related to dance. Hillborg has made a chamber version, previously unrecorded, of his acclaimed concerto, while his colleague Fredrik Högberg has composed Dancing with Silent Purpose, a work which in concert is performed against a back-drop projection of a choreographic video. Göran Fröst, the brother of the soloist, has arranged a selection of Brahms’ ever-popular Hungarian Dances for clarinet and strings, and has also composed Klezmer Dances, with elements of Eastern European klezmer music. These Swedish composers are joined by international masters such as Lutosławski, who based his Dance Preludes on rhythms from Polish folk music, and Aaron Copland, whose Clarinet Concerto was composed for Benny Goodman, ‘the King of Swing’ – especially for this disc, Martin Fröst has recorded the rarely heard, dazzling original coda to the work. Not forgetting the great Latin American dance tradition, he also performs the infinitely expressive Oblivion by the giant of modern tango, Astor Piazzolla.
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