Martin Fröst

A year late due to the pandemic, the project, originally Exodus, came on stage under the name "XODUS (The Way Out Lies Within)" on 5 May 2022 at Stockholm's Konserthuset with the participation of more than 100 people and live painting on a large screen, performance time about 75 minutes. Texts with English subtitles and live images are by the multi-artist Jesper Waldersten, very well known in Sweden. Fröst performed as a clarinetist, conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and a chamber choir, and again as "master of ceremonies." Konserthuset has posted a video of the performance online, as well as a brief introduction indicating all the music titles arranged for this work. These include compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johannes Brahms, Giuseppe Verdi and Béla Bartók on the one hand, on the other hand, contemporary pieces by the Swedish composers Hans Ek, Anders Hillborg, Goran Fröst, Annamaria Kowalsky, as well as an arrangement of traditional pieces by the Spanish clarinettist and arranger Alberto Álvarez García. The Swedish lighting designer Linus Fellbom, who works mainly in theater, opera and dance, provided lighting design and direction.

In 2019, Fröst set up a foundation whose goal is to give children and young people in Sweden and other countries the opportunity to receive music lessons and access to instruments.

The premiere was on 18 May 2018 in Stockholm. The performance lasts approx. 1:45 hours with the addition of the Klezmer dance No. 2 for clarinet and string orchestra by Göran Fröst.

Fröst was artistic leader of the Vinterfest music festival for 10 seasons, concluding his tenure in 2015. He became joint artistic director of the Stavanger International Chamber Music Festival in 2010, and served in that until 2015. He has been a conductor-in-association with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. In May 2017, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra announced the appointment of Fröst as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2019–2020 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons.

Fröst's work in contemporary music includes collaborations with Anders Hillborg, Krzysztof Penderecki, Kalevi Aho, Rolf Martinsson, Bent Sørensen, Victoria Borisova-Ollas, Karin Rehnqvist and Sven-David Sandström. In May 2014, he received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize, the first clarinetist so honoured.

In the United States, in October 2014, Fröst first appeared with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO). Based on this concert, in November 2014, the SPCO named Fröst one of its Artistic Partners, effective with the 2015–2016 season, with an initial contract of 4 years. He was supposed to have made his first appearance in November 2015, but was unable to perform due to Meniere's Disease. The effects of this ailment delayed Fröst's appearances as an SPCO artistic partner until February 2017.

Every two to three years, since 2013, Fröst staged a project in which he works as a clarinetist, conductor, lyricist, "master of ceremony", actor and occasionally as a dancer. He performs in collaboration with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, composers, choreographers and lighting technicians. The projects presented are named Dollhouse, Genesis, Retropia and Exodus.

At Dollhouse, compositions by Göran Fröst, Paul Dukas, Bent Sörensen, Manuel de Falla and Anders Hillborg, as well as choreography and light, became one unit. It was Fröst's first collaboration with the lighting designer and choreographer Linus Fellbom. The world premiere was in October 2013 with a duration of approx. 1:35 h.

Martin Fröst (born 14 December 1970) is a Swedish clarinetist and conductor. He is principal conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. He is also a developer of multimedia projects with music, choreography and light design, in which he appears as a clarinetist, conductor, copywriter and "master of the ceremony". He crosses musical and medial borders, willing to experiment.