A perfect blend of technique and skill
I have been a lifelong devotee of the clarinet, but never before have I heard such a perfect blending of skill and technique as Martin Fröst provides on this recording. First of all, he brings out the rich texture of the clarinet on every note from the lowest to the highest register. The richness of his tone is always there, even in those passages filled with flurries of sixteenth notes bouncing all over the range of the instrument. In these passages, also, he demonstrates a skill at articulating the individual notes in cadenzas and other rapid runs with a speed that is breathtaking. In admiration, instrumentalists sometimes speak of a performer with that skill as having “a tongue like a snake.” Anyone who has ever played a clarinet will listen to Fröst’s skill with awe. Some critic years ago said that Mozart wrote for the clarinet as if he had invented it; Fröst plays the clarinet as if Mozart had invented it just for him.
