Solo Alone and More Jonas Frølund

• Carl Nielsen (1865 - 1931): Clarinet Concerto, Op. 57, FS 129:
• 1 Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 57, FS 129 02:04
• Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971): 3 Pieces for Solo Clarinet, K033:
• 2 Stravinsky: 3 Pieces for Solo Clarinet, K033: No. 1, Sempre piano e molto tranquillo 01:43
• 3 Stravinsky: 3 Pieces for Solo Clarinet, K033: No. 2, Eighth Note = 168 01:14
• 4 Stravinsky: 3 Pieces for Solo Clarinet, K033: No. 3, Eighth Note = 160 01:22
• Bent Sørensen (b. 1958): Lontanamente:
• 5 Sørensen: Lontanamente 06:07
• Mette Nielsen (b. 1985): Alone:
• 6 Nielsen: Alone 11:11
• Olivier Messiaen (1908 - 1992): Quatuor pour la fin du temps:
• 7 Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps: III. Abîme des oiseaux 09:19
• Gunnar Berg (1909 - 1989): Pour clarinette seule I:
• 8 Berg: Pour clarinette seule I 14:56
• Poul Ruders (b. 1949): Tattoo for One:
• 9 Ruders: Tattoo for One 07:12
• Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883): Tristan und Isolde, WWV 90:
• 10 Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, WWV 90: — (Arr. for Clarinet by Anonymous) 03:10
• Simon Steen-Andersen (b. 1976): De profundis (Arr. for Clarinet by Anonymous):
• 11 Steen-Andersen: De profundis (Arr. for Clarinet by Anonymous) 15:15
• Total Runtime 01:13:33

Info for Solo Alone and More

"Solo Alone and More" is the first portrait album to present the young clarinet virtuoso Jonas Frølund in an hour-long musical journey of works showcasing the instrument beloved and ennobled by composers since Mozart’s time. For this album, Frølund selected and perfected a program of works written within the last 100 years.

When planning this album, Frølund had three goals in mind — to present himself as a musician with a distinctive vision; to present the clarinet “family” from treble to bass, starting with the familiar concert instruments in Bb and A to the alto (basset) and the bass; and, finally, to present all of the above in music written during a century of New Music, spanning from immediately after WW1 to literally a few months before the recordings took place in June 2021 . . . that is, with one exception: a certain perennially ‘new’ woodwind solo from a mid-19th century German opera that many observers regard as the mother of all Modern Music - Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. All the music presented on this album is played on a solo clarinet . . . again, with one exception: in the De Profundis by Simon Steen-Andersen, where the soloist multitasks on a number of percussion instruments as well.

Frølund studied at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen and at the Conservatoire de Paris, and is in high demand as a soloist and chamber musician. He is co-founder of the prize-winning wind quintet V Coloris, and is currently principal clarinet of the Danish Chamber Orchestra under Adam Fischer. In 2021 he took the clarinet world by storm at the international ClarinetFest in a performance described as “electrifying,” leaving the audience wanting more, - and his performance of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with Fischer and the Danish Chamber Orchestra was featured on the BBC Radio 3 Afternoon Concert.

Jonas Frölund, clarinet

Jonas Frølund
Jonas’s formal musical education began in Copenhagen with John Kruse as his principal teacher. An international prizewinner, he moved on from the Royal Danish Academy of Music (DKDM) to the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP) with Pascal Moragues and Philippe Berrod as his principal teachers, graduating with flying colours in Paris 2022.

Jonas Frølund’s repertoire includes everything from the late 1700s till today – he is equally fond of solo work, chamber music and concertos and is busy exploring these fields as an active and sought-after musician as well as an inventive first-mover and back-stage worker, notably as co-founder and member of the rising Copenhagen-based international wind quintet and concert organiser V Coloris. He is principal clarinet and board member in The Danish Chamber Orchestra, a perfect match for him both artistically and in matters of values and standards. Already in his student years he worked as an interim group leader in the Malmö Symphony Orchestra – an experience that proved highly rewarding but paradoxically also helped him settle for a rising career as an artist-entrepreneur with goals other than mainly playing in opera and symphony orchestras (which he is very skilled at, actually). His brilliant technique is matched by an inquisitive and inventive mind, and it is only natural that on one hand he inspires contemporary composers to write challenging new stuff for him while on the other he will dive into the sea of music older than the clarinet as an instrument to find pieces that might fit his concert activities and widen his circle of musical partners. His acute ear and lively spirit allow him to also explore the world of improvisation and jamming; a precise and structured approach to music and to life serves him well as a budding organiser of practical music-making such as festivals and events, etc.

SOLO ALONE AND MORE is the first album to present Jonas Frølund the clarinet virtuoso, the musician and indeed the programme editor who aims to take the listener on an hour-long musical journey. A notable chamber music recording is the Ruders album issued by OUR Recordings in 2022, and in May 2023 Dacapo released a Mette Nielsen portrait album, Frozen Moments, comprising among other works three chamber music pieces from 2021, Alone, Together, and Apart, closely related and in the first two instances written for and played by Jonas Frølund. As an orchestral clarinet leader he can be heard in the Naxos box of the rahms symphonies released by The Danish Chamber Ochestra in 2022; 2020 saw the appearance of an independent Dinu Lipatti release from V Coloris, who in 2023 even released a single of Bartók’s Six Romanian Folk Dances in their own arrangements. Two videos of Jonas Frølund performing Gunnar Berg’s Pour clarinette seule I and II in a unique Jutland setting of landscape, architecture and modern art are offered by the Edition Svitser YouTube channel (2023).

Booklet for Solo Alone and More