Fearsomely talented Swedish clarinetist Martin Fröst continues his conquest of the major concerto repertoire for his instrument with this recording of Carl Nielsen's 1928 Clarinet Concerto, paired with a new concerto by Finland's Kalevi Aho. The Nielsen concerto is a dense work in which the clarinet and the orchestra spend a lot of time going their separate ways, with the path of the clarinet being very twisted indeed. Difficult arabesques on the clarinet are interrupted without warning by heraldic blasts from the orchestral horns. The concerto was greeted by early reviewers as a radical modern work, and an instrumentalist wanting to push the clarinet into uncomfortable territory can still make it sound that way.

With Night Passages Martin Fröst fuses a centuries-spanning selection of music, from the famous to the rare, into highly original arrangements for clarinet, bass and piano. With his unusual ensemble he touches the genre of jazz, folk and turns traditional Baroque favorites by Bach, Scarlatti, Handel and Rameau into original arrangements. He also sends greetings from his home country, Sweden, with music by Romantic composer Hugo Alfvén and the traditional Polska from Dorotea. Martin Fröst is widely recognized as an artist who constantly seeks new ways to shape, challenge and rebuild the classical music arena and, together with Miles Davis, the only wind soloist to have received one of the world's highest music honors; the Léonie Sonning Music Prize.

‘The fantastic thing about art and music is that one can pose questions and conjure up visions at the same time.’ The words are those of the Swedish composer Jesper Nordin, who does exactly that in Emerging from Currents and Waves. A large-scale work for orchestra, clarinet soloist, conductor and live electronics, Emerging… is a collaboration between Nordin, Martin Fröst and Esa-Pekka Salonen. All three are interested in how new technology can – and will – influence art and artistic expression, and in exploring the intersection of mankind, music and technology.

Martin Frösts new album is a baroque adventure based on the question: What might Vivaldi have composed for the clarinet if it had been more fully developed? For this recording three clarinet concertos have been newly composed, made up of music drawn from Vivaldis most beautiful opera and oratorio arias. Performed on the mellow, songlike chalumeau the predecessor of the modern clarinet and the brilliant, virtuosic clarinet of today, Martin Fröst and Concerto Köln create a wonderful symbiosis between the old and the new.

Anders Hillborg is one of Sweden’s best-known and versatile composers. Many of his works have been premiered by Esa-Pekka Salonen. The two men met when they were both students, and they have maintained contact as musicians and friends ever since.

The Verbier Festival is one of classical musics greatest events. In celebration of the festivals 25th anniversary, this unique concert brings together 36 classical stars in an unprecedented evening of ingenious programming and captivating performances. The line-up includes the worlds greatest violinists, violists, cellists and pianists as well as other leading performers conducted by Valery Gergiev and Gabor Takacs-Nagy. Founder and director Martin T:son Engstroem writes: We started this incredible adventure in 1994, and 25 years on, our Festival has become one of the worlds most important cultural events. But it is not just another festival; our vision right from the beginning was to build something which combined important musicians with a very visible youth and learning element. This is what we set out to do and this is what we achieved.