MARTIN FRÖST

At the age of nine, Martin Fröst heard Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto for the first time – and was overwhelmed. »Whispering, dancing, smiling, crying, laughing« – that’s what he discovered in this music. That encounter became a pivotal moment: from then on, Fröst took up the clarinet. Today, the multi-award-winning Swede is considered one of the most influential clarinetists of our time, and Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto continues to accompany him to this day. The work is at the center of an evening that leads from Mozart’s final works to Beethoven. The Clarinet Concerto was composed in 1791, during the last year of Mozart’s life, as was »La clemenza di Tito,« whose overture opens the concert. Both works showcase Mozart’s late-period mastery: luminous elegance, melodic imagination, and depth beneath apparent lightness.

Following the Mozart Year in 2026, attention will turn to Beethoven in 2027, marking the 200th anniversary of his death. Just one year after Mozart’s death, Beethoven arrived in Vienna – with Waldstein’s recommendation to receive there »Mozart’s spirit from Haydn’s hands.« In the »Pastoral«, Beethoven had long since found his own voice: the experience of nature, emotion, and the power of a thunderstorm became the subject matter of a symphony that he himself understood as »more an expression of feeling than a painting.« With the SWR Symphonieorchester, Fröst is joined by one of the most distinguished ensembles on the German orchestral scene. The work of conductor Matthew Halls ranges from historically informed performance practice to the symphonic repertoire.

The concert is part of the Festival-Subscription FORUM.