Full Biography
JOAN MARTÍ-FRASQUIER
Going Further with the Baritone Saxophone !!
I am a restless musician, deeply engaged with the music of our time and always open to new artistic experiences.
The baritone saxophone has always been at the core of my artistic career. Its sonic depth, timbral richness, and remarkable flexibility make it especially suited to exploring new territories with a distinctive voice.
PERFORMER
My career has been largely shaped through contemporary creation. At the same time, it embraces everything from early music to free improvisation, as well as electronics and visual arts.
I have premiered more than eighty works across different genres (from solo to opera) by composers from around the world, including Joan Bagés i Rubí, Isabel Benito, José Luis Campana, Martina Claussen, and Hans Peter Stubbe Teglbjaerg, among others, actively contributing to the expansion of the baritone saxophone repertoire. Notable highlights include the concertos for baritone saxophone and orchestra by Albena Petrovic (Philharmonie Luxembourg, June 2018) and Fernando Lerman (Teatre Fortuny, Reus, November 2024).
Before beginning my solo career in 2011, I was a member of several chamber music groups such as SAX 3+1 (1994–2013) and the woodwind trio SIGMA TRIO (2004–2007), as well as various contemporary music ensembles. I currently collaborate with Morphosis Ensemble and the Franz Schubert Filharmonia.
In 2016, together with composer and sound artist Joan Bagés i Rubí, I founded Morphosis Duo (baritone saxophone and electronics), born within Morphosis Ensemble—a flexible collective dedicated to electroacoustic music and the exploration of new concert formats.
I have presented my projects in Germany, Andorra, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Scotland, Spain, the United States, Estonia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland, in festivals such as Mixtur Barcelona (2018), SpazioMusica Cagliari (2021), New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (2017), Tallinn Music Week (2015), Rc4 (Rio de Janeiro, 2015), and Classical (Vienna 2014 and Hannover 2022).
DISCOGRAPHY
I have recorded for both national and international labels in various formats.
With Aventino Music (Avant-Garde collection), I released SOLO (2025), a work focused on the expressive potential of the baritone saxophone alone. A new album is also on the way (2026).
With Solo Musica GmbH, you can find SUITES – A Tribute to Bach’s Cello Suites (2023), a homage to J. S. Bach’s solo cello suites, and DREAMLOVER (2022), featuring the complete saxophone production of Albena Petrovic.
My earlier works, BELIEVER (INS Records, 2015) and MADE IN BCN (La Mà de Guido, 2018), include some of the most representative pieces of the baritone saxophone repertoire.
These are complemented by three albums with SAX 3+1 and various collaborations with Morphosis Ensemble and other artists and composers.
TEACHER
Since 2003, I have been a professor of saxophone at the Escola i Conservatori de Música de la Diputació de Tarragona in Reus.
I understand teaching as an extension of my artistic practice, as a space for transmission. My aim is not only to train instrumentalists, but to nurture musicians with critical thinking and open-minded individuals.
The experience of the Rencontres Internationales autour du Saxophone Baryton held in Ambazac (France) between 2008 and 2011 was decisive in continuing the legacy of Eric Devallon and Damien Royannais. Since then, I have maintained an ongoing activity promoting the baritone saxophone, also through my website blog, aimed especially at young saxophonists.
I have given courses, workshops, masterclasses, and lectures in Catalonia, Spain, Andorra, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Australia, and New Zealand, and have collaborated on two occasions with my Dutch colleagues at the Baritone Institute.
I also regularly take part in composition courses (Festival Mixtur, Barcelona Modern, etc.), promoting knowledge of the baritone saxophone’s resources among young composers.
More recently, I have launched a series of contemporary music performance workshops in various music schools and conservatories, which have been very well received.
STUDIES AND AWARDS
After completing my musical studies in Barcelona, I furthered my training in France with Christophe Bois (ENM Bourges), Philippe Braquart (CNR Montpellier), and later with Damien Royannais (CRR Limoges), obtaining the highest distinctions. This period was decisive in shaping my artistic path.
Among the main recognitions:
- DIPLOMA D’ONORE at final round of the XII Torneo Internazionale de Musica in Roma (Italy) with SIGMA TRIO (2006)
- PREMIER PRIX À L’UNANIMITÉ of the Centre Region of France in Tours (2001)
- 1st PRIZE at the 6th Young Performers Competition in Castellterçol (Catalonia, Spain) with SAX 3+1 (1999)
- 3rd PRIZE at 4th Montserrat Alavedra Chamber Music Competition in Terrassa (Catalonia, Spain) with SAX 3+1 (1997)
- 1st PRIZE in Chamber Music and SPECIAL PRIZE for the Best Performance of Music from the 20th Century at the 1st Alta Ribagorça International Chamber Music Competition in Lleida (Catalonia, Spain) with SAX 3+1 (1997)
- 1st PRIZE at the 12th Chamber Music Competition in Manresa (Catalonia, Spain) with SAX 3+1 (1997)
CONTEMPO[R]AN[EUS]
In 2023, together with Joan Bagés i Rubí, I took on the artistic direction of the Festival CONTEMPO[R]AN[EUS] in Reus—a project that advocates for new music as a living practice.
PRESS
- “Martí-Frasquier is a superb saxophonist, with complete control of his instrument [it seems like an extension of his body].” (Fanfare Magazine, 2022)
- “The saxophonist Joan Martí-Frasquier is one of the most interesting performers in today’s musical landscape.” (Sonograma Magazine, 2019)
- “It is no exaggeration to say that the musical potential of Joan Martí-Frasquier deserves close attention, as his interpretations will be decisive for future generations of saxophonists inheriting a valuable interpretative legacy.” (Sonograma Magazine, 2019)
- “All of this undoubtedly places Joan Martí-Frasquier among the leading figures in the world of contemporary saxophone and new music.” (Toda La Música, 2019)
- “His powerful, deep, intense sound—rich in timbre—together with the instrument’s enormous versatility are the keys that allow Martí-Frasquier to develop a bold and original language.” (Melómano Digital, 2018)
- “The technical impeccability and the malleability of Joan Martí-Frasquier’s baritone saxophone brought a touch of excellence.” (Revista Musical Catalana, 2013)
- “We could clearly see this in the impeccable and moving performance of the young saxophonist Joan Martí[-Frasquier].” (Revista Musical Catalana, 2005)