Scandinavian Night

Interpreters

Martin Fröst . Director & Clarinet
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester

Programme

Edvard Grieg
“Aus Holbergs Zeit”. Suite in Old Style, Op. 40

Jacob Mühlrad
“Helix” for clarinet and string orchestra

Goran and Martin Fröst
“Nomadic Dance” for clarinet and string orchestra

Johannes Brahms
“Hungarian Dance” No. 1 for clarinet and string orchestra

Arnold Schönberg
“Verklärte Nacht”, Op. 4, in the version for string orchestra

Martin Fröst's free artistic spirit stems from his highly musical family, where his parents and siblings spent hours playing chamber music together or listening to classical music – an effective way to take a breather even with three children. The charismatic Swede's love of experimentation and discovery is a perfect match for the SKO's musical curiosity. The programme that the clarinettist has put together for this collaboration, featuring pieces from his Scandinavian homeland, is both mysterious and full of life: Sibelius's ‘Valse triste’ and Nilsen's comforting Andante, composed for the funeral of the painter Oluf Hartmann, as well as Grieg's Holberg Suite, offer the rich timbres of Nordic symphonic music. Violinist Göran Fröst frequently composes for his brother Martin, mostly klezmer music, such as the powerful Nomadia. And in Hillborg's clarinet concerto, dedicated to Fröst and tailored entirely to his extraordinary skills, the soloist becomes a performer: playing music, acting and dancing with movements ranging from ballet and pantomime to street dance, he brings a total work of art to the stage that shimmers in all the colours of the peacock's wheel.