Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Klarinettenkonzert KV 622 auf Super Audio CD

Mozart and Martin Fröst make an irresistible pair. Here they present the Clarinet Concerto and the Clarinet Quintet - two unparalleled peaks of the clarinet repertoire - in performances of total commitment and exquisite beauty.

As with all great musicians Martin Fröst's playing simply compels one to listen. Not that one needs much compelling, for Mozart's Clarinet Concerto must surely count as the greatest concerto ever written for a wind instrument and the Quintet is non-pareil chamber music. But like the great musician that he is, Martin Fröst makes one listen afresh, makes one discover new aspects of the "familiar" music. He is helped in this by the choice of partners. The Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, whose Mendelssohn recordings for BIS were so enthusiastically received, seem totally at one with the soloist while the understanding between the Vertavo Quartet and Martin Fröst is particularly evident in the cut and thrust of the quintet.

The SACD recording - allowing a surround sound option for those with the required set-up - really does benefit the music. The range of pianissimo (and below) colours that Martin Fröst conjures up is miraculous and is beautifully reproduced by this disc. Indeed one is reminded by the claims made by a critic of Mozart's time on hearing the great Anton Stadler perform the concerto. ‘You deserve my thanks, brave virtuoso! I would never have thought that a clarinet can imitate a human voice as effectively as the way you play it. For your instrument has such a soft and attractive tone that it is irresistible to anyone who has a heart.’ (The cadenzas recorded on this disc were not heard at the time, for they are Martin Fröst's own!)

Rezensionen

"In no small part aided by the redoubtable Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Vertavo String Quartet, Fröst steals the show with his sultry tone, sensitive phrasing, and utterly beguiling pianissimos...as close to perfection as we have any right to expect." Classics Today. com

"A superb, even stunning, performance and recording of some of the greatest of Mozart’s music", Paul Shoemaker, Classical MusicWeb

"Better recorded performances of these towering masterpieces may exist, but I have never heard them. In their technical proficiency, style consciousness and broad, yet never exaggerated emotional range, they shine as major achievements." International Record Review, January 2004

"Martin Fröst es un excelentísimo clarinetista, limpio, atinado, con una gama de recursos increíble." CD Compact, April 2004

"Une nouvelle référence pour le Quintette." Classica-Répertoire, June 2004

"Fröst-Oundjian avec l'Amsterdam Sinfonietta exerce un pouvoir de fascination inextinguible en raison de couleurs de la clarinette de basset, partaitement mis en valeur par une prise de son d'une rare précision... Et quelle créativité de la part de Fröst qui prend des risques et semble en permanence en train d'improviser, de découvrir mesure après mesure la partition!" Classica-Répertoire, March 2005

Rezensionen

A.​ Csampai in stereoplay 12/03: "Die mächtige Konkurrenz scheint den 32-jährigen Schweden Martin Fröst, den neuen Shooting-Star der nördlichen Hemisphäre, nicht weiter zu belasten, denn er schafft es mit einer seltenen Kom- bination aus lockerer Unbekümmertheit und hochkonzentrier- ter Sensibilität, das zutiefst menschliche Wesen dieses einzigartigen Meisterwerks, seine Zärtlichkeit und Inner- lichkeit zum Glänzen zu bringen und uns so das Mysterium des späten Mozart in all seiner Entrücktheit, Melancho- lie und Schönheit neu erleben zu lassen.​"