Fröst and Friends
Alexander SCRIABIN (1872-1915), arr. Pöntinen, M. Fröst
Prelude in B major, Op.16, No.1 [3:03] a
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) / Charles GOUNOD (1818-1893)
Ave Maria [2:32] b
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Presto, from Sonata for solo violin in G minor, BWV 1001 [3:15]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Wie Melodien zieht es mir, Op.105 No.1 [2:02] a
TRADITIONAL , arr. Göran Fröst
Let’s Be Happy [3:23] c
Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908), arr. Pöntinen, M. Fröst,
M. Ernman
The Flight of the Bumble Bee [1:07] d
Fritz KREISLER (1875-1962), arr. Pöntinen, M. Fröst
Liebeslied [3:41] a
André MESSAGER (1853-1929)
Solo de Concours [5:40] a
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943), arr. Leonard Rose
Vocalise [6:08] a
Fryderyk CHOPIN (1810-1849), arr. Pöntinen, M. Fröst
Nocturne in E flat major, Op.9 No.2 [4:42] a
Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Dein Angesicht, Op.127 No.2 a
Vittorio MONTI (1868-1922) , arr. Pöntinen, M. Fröst
Csárdás [4:52] a
Anders HILLBORG (b.1954)
The Peacock Moment (Påfågelsögonblick) [1:08] a
Martin FRÖST (b.1970)
Improvisation (based on a theme by Malcolm Arnold) [2:26]
Charles CHAPLIN (1889-1977), arr. R. Pöntinen
Smile [4:02] a
Göran FRÖST (b.1974)
Brudvals för Karin och Martin [3:07] e
Svante HENRYSON (b.1963)
Off Pist [4:33] f
Eden AHBEZ (1908-1995)
Nature Boy [2:38] g
Martin Fröst (clarinet), with a Roland Pöntinen; b
Torlief Thedéen (cello); c Christian Svarfvar, Åsa
Hallerbäck Thedéen (violin), Göran Fröst (viola), Torlief
Thedéen (cello), Svante Henryson (bass); d Malena Ernman
(mezzo), Roland Pöntinen; e Herman Stefánsson, Sölve Kingstedt
(clarinet), Åsa Hallerbäck Thedéen, Christian Svarfvar (violin),
Göran Fröst (viola), Torlief Thedéen (cello), Svante Henryson
(bass); f Svante Henryson (cello); g Torlief Thedéen
(cello), Svante Henryson (bass)
rec. December 2009, Nybrokajen 11, Stockholm
BIS SACD 1823 [64:04]
A wonderful sense of sheer delight permeates every minute of this richly enjoyable
disc. It comes from the tonal beauty and sheer joyful facility of Martin Fröst’s
playing; from the impressive musicality of everything that goes on in the
changing groupings of friends involved on the disc; in the fact that they
are all friends, a sense of intimate - but far from lazy - familiarity
evident in all the musical relationships to be heard here. Of none is that
truer than of the partnership of Martin Fröst and Roland Pöntinen.
Though Fröst’s clarinet is, given the nature of the music, necessarily
the dominant voice in the music that he and Pöntinen play together, it
would be quite wrong to speak of Pöntinen merely as an accompanist. The
interplay of the two is so complete, their pleasure in one another’s
musical company so obvious that this feels like musical symbiosis, not simply
soloist and accompanist. The opening transcription from Scriabin, full of
slow melodic playing (from both) of great beauty, was written, Fröst’s
entertaining booklet notes tell us, before the two were fully-fledged professional
musicians. Like much else on the disc it is, in the highest sense, ‘amateur’
music-making, done, in other words, out of love rather than for mere income.
There isn’t a dull track on the disc, listening to which is, at times,
like being present at a particularly happy musical party. So, for example,
Let’s Be Happy is thoroughly infectious, especially in its movement
from its melancholic opening to its later companionable secular ecstasy of
sociability. In The Flight of the Bumble Bee’ the contribution of mezzo
Malena Ernman is joyously interwoven with clarinet and piano in quasi-mesmeric
fashion, rich in eccentricity, humour and virtuosity. Again, delightful! The
Czardas - which in his booklet notes Fröst relates to memories of his
parents’ parties - starts calmly enough but grows increasingly exhilarated
(and exhilarating) to close with a good - and carefully controlled - impression
of musical inebriety. Henryson’s Off Pist is full of skittering motions
and motoric patterns, Abrupt changes of direction, jazz inflections, Swedish
folk elements - an exciting miniature packed with surprises.
But there is tenderness and lyrical beauty too. The Brahms and Schumann pieces
are true ‘songs without words, Dein Angesicht a model of restrained,
unpompous dignity; the Chopin Nocturne luxuriates in emotional expressiveness
without ever seeming merely self-indulgent.
Some of the unfamiliar or unexpected items also fare very well. Smile is relatively
slight, but Chaplin’s music is played with respect and some surprising
depths are revealed in this perceptive arrangement. Fröst’s own
Improvisation - which will interest admirers of Malcolm Arnold - is full of
tenebrous imaginings at its opening, evolving through complex runs and leaps,
some of them bluesy in phrasing. The whole is self-evidently the work of a
clarinettist who has a full and mature understanding of the technical and
aural possibilities of his instrument. This is music played out of a lifetime’s
experience.
The same might be said for the disc as a whole - but it is a lifetime in which
the performer’s experience, far from wearying him, has sustained - and
perhaps even increased - his joy in what he does. It is that joy which characterises
all the performances here. Played on my ipod this recital has sustained me
through more than one potentially irritating delay on the trains; played at
home it has attracted admiring comments from more than just myself.
Glyn Pursglove
A joyful celebration of an instrument and of friendship.