This disc takes its name from ‘Der Rattenfänger:
Ein Hamelner Totentanz,’ by the contemporary German composer Wilfried
Hiller, in which the young Swedish clarinetist Martin Fröst
played the title role at Hildesheim Opera in 1994. For this performance
Fröst received an excellent press and was named ‘Interpreter
of the Year’ by Opernwelt Yearbook. To judge by this recording,
which is part of the bargain-priced BIS 30th Anniversary
Edition, this early praise was richly deserved.
Nine years on from his Hildesheim success, Martin
Fröst has established himself as a significant musician.
Having become the youngest instrumentalist ever to win first prize
at the Nordic Soloist Biennale in 1991 and then taking the title
role in Hiller’s ‘Pied Piper’ he has gathered many other
honours including first prizes in the CIEM Geneva Competition,
the Nippon Music Awards and an AKZO Nobel Music Award. This year
he won a Borletti-Buitoni Trust award and was chosen as a BBC
New Generation artist.
Fröst’s command of his instrument is certainly
impressive and here he offers a fine selection of operatic arias
arranged for clarinet and orchestra. His ability bring out the
subtleties of the music cannot be rated too highly.
Most of the pieces on the disc will be familiar
to people who listen regularly to music: ‘La ci darem’, ‘Printemps
qui commence’ and the pieces from ‘La Traviata’ for instance need
no introduction. Some of the other works however, from Rossini’s
opera seria ‘La Donna del Lago’ and from the Swedish composer
Ivar Hallström’s ‘Den Bergtagna – The Bride of the Mountain
King’ may be less well known but are equally appealing. Additionally,
the ‘Am Calvarienberg’ excerpt from Hiller’s ‘Der Rattenfänger’
is so pleasingly melodic and so full of atmosphere that it is
a considerable incentive to explore more from Hiller, a composer
who writes at least half of his music expressly for children and
who studied privately for a time under Carl Orff.
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra plays sympathetically
under the baton of Lan Shui, the balance between soloist and orchestra
is nicely gauged and the recording quality is typical of the high
standards customarily offered by BIS.
Perhaps the only question about this disc is
whether or not there is any great demand for instrumental versions
of vocal music these days. On the strength of these performances
though, maybe there should be. This is a delightful disc.
Bill Kenny
