Full Biography
JOAN MARTÍ-FRASQUIER
I don’t fit into a repertoire. I help shape it!
The baritone saxophone lies at the heart of my artistic practice. Its sonic depth, timbral richness and remarkable flexibility have led me to explore new artistic territories through contemporary creation, collaboration with composers and interdisciplinary projects.
PERFORMER
My artistic career has been shaped by 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, playing an active role in expanding the contemporary repertoire for the instrument. 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).
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.
Before focusing primarily on my solo career, I was co-founder of the saxophone quartet SAX 3+1 (1994–2013) and the woodwind trio SIGMA TRIO (2004–2007), as well as other chamber music groups and contemporary music ensembles. I currently collaborate with Morphosis Ensemble and the Franz Schubert Filharmonia.
I have presented my projects in Andorra, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, at festivals including Mixtur Barcelona (2018, 2025), SpazioMusica Cagliari (2021), New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (2017), Unerhörte Musik Berlin (2026), 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
Teaching is an extension of my artistic practice. My aim is not only to train instrumentalists, but to help shape thoughtful, curious and open-minded musicians.
Since 2003, I have been a professor of saxophone at the Escola i Conservatori de Música de la Diputació de Tarragona in Reus.
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, with a particular focus on 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]
Since 2023, together with composer Joan Bagés i Rubí, I have served as Co-Founder and Artistic Co-Director of Festival CONTEMPO[R]AN[EUS] in Reus, an international platform dedicated to contemporary creation that brings together concerts, educational activities and interdisciplinary projects. The festival promotes dialogue between music, technology and other artistic disciplines, supports emerging and established creators, and seeks to broaden access to contemporary music more accessible while strengthening international artistic exchange.
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)