FUAD IBRAHIMOV - MARTIN FRÖST

It all begins with the shimmering softness of Claude Debussy's 'Printemps', a melody that evokes the freshness of renewal. Then the atmosphere becomes more intense with Michael Jarrell's clarinet concerto 'Passages', the powerful yet delicate playing of clarinettist Martin Fröst giving this music its full meaning.
Listening to these pieces brings to mind the melancholy 'D'un soir triste', which seems to herald the end of a brilliant young composer, Lili Boulanger. But the music doesn't stop there. It also becomes a declaration of resistance, as in Béla Bartók's Le Mandarin merveilleux. Here, the music is both violent and intoxicating, like a struggle against death, in which the hero, between courage and passion, succumbs only after giving in to the impulses of Eros.
This is a musical experience that touches the heart, an evening in which every note becomes an intimate conversation between the orchestra, the conductor and us, the audience.