Poste Restante 22/11

About the Performance

Participants

Artist in residence for the season: Torleif Thedéen
Guests: Martin Fröst, clarinet, Roland Pöntinen, piano

Concert introduction: Conversation with the musicians at 15.20

Program

Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Adagio and Allegro op. 70
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Piano Trio No 4 op. 11
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963): Clarinet Sonata FP 184
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Clarinet Trio in A minor, op. 114

Torleif Thedéen has invited star musicians Martin Fröst, clarinet, and Roland Pöntinen, piano, to this concert. The program includes music by Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann and Poulenc.

Varied instrument combinations

It was written for horn and piano, but before its publication Schumann planned variants in which the horn, cello or violin could be replaced. Here it is performed for cello and piano. Schumann is followed by Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Trio from 1797, with the then unusual combination of piano, clarinet and cello. The trio is sometimes nicknamed the ‘Gassenhauer Trio’ because of the third movement’s playful variations on the tragicomic opera L’amor marinaro ossia Il corsaro by Joseph Weigl. The melody used is called Pria ch’io l’impegno, translated ‘Before I go to work’ and was an immensely popular tune on the streets and stages of Vienna during this period.

A significant work

The program also includes one of Poulenc’s last masterpieces, the Clarinet Sonata, which has become an important work in the clarinet repertoire and is frequently performed. The Clarinet Sonata was commissioned and premiered by the legendary Benny Goodman in 1963.

Poulenc was supposed to play the piano at the premiere but died of a heart attack before this could happen. Instead, it was the world star Leonard Bernstein who played the piece with Goodman at Carnegie Hall in 1963. To conclude, Torleif, Martin and Roland perform a lyrical and melancholy clarinet trio by Brahms written in 1891. A trio of emotional intensity and technical brilliance.

Groundbreaking clarinet star

Martin Fröst is a clarinetist and conductor renowned for his pioneering career as a classical musician. The New York Times has called him “a virtuosity and musicianship unmatched by any clarinetist – perhaps even instrumentalist”. He has several celebrated Sony classical recordings to his credit and was the first clarinetist ever to win the prestigious Léonie Sonning
Music Prize in 2014.

Versatile concerts

Fröst has performed with some of the world’s most renowned orchestras, including the Concertgebouw Orchestra,
the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony.

In Sweden, in addition to his impressive international career, he has worked with the country’s orchestras in major concert productions such as Genesis and Dollhouse, conducting, playing and narrating the music together with choir and symphony orchestra.

World touring pianist

Roland Pöntinen is one of Scandinavia’s foremost pianists, renowned for his virtuoso technique and great musicality. He started his career in 1981 as a soloist with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and has played with many internationally renowned orchestras, conductors and musicians in Europe, North America, South America, Australia and Asia.

Pöntinen has also had several works dedicated to him by composers such as Andreas Hillborg and Veli-Matti Puumala. He has made some 100 recordings and is himself a composer for both orchestra and chamber music.

Torleif Thedéen c/o Musik i Uppland

Swedish cellist Torleif Thedéen is one of the most prominent instrumentalists in the world, with an international career as a soloist, recording artist and educator. In a career spanning four decades, Torleif has performed with some of the world’s greatest musicians, orchestras and conductors and won first prize in several international cello competitions. Now he invites chamber music stars from home and abroad to play with him in season