A strip of mist hovers like thin gauze over the frozen Lake Orsa which shimmers under a blue sky as we squeak and swish our way across the ice, equipped with ice studs and hi-tech Swedish skates. After 20 minutes' skating, the Konsertlada comes into view on the lake's edge – this cosy, barn-like structure in the hamlet of Vattnäs, in Mora, central Sweden was recently built by international opera star, and local girl, Anna Larsson and is one of the most picturesque locations of Vinterfest, a chamber music festival with an icy twist.
A key attraction of Vinterfest is its artistic director and internationally acclaimed clarinettist, the aptly-named Martin Fröst, who, if your knowledge of the clarinet stops at Acker Bilk, will open your mind. Not only does he bring his classical music friends from around the world to this isolated spot, he has ensured the festival embraces the locality and its amenities, so every possible venue from DIY stores to MOT centres, libraries, fitness centres and art galleries has been roped in to stage events.
"We're in the middle of nowhere and the festival takes place in the depths of winter," Fröst tells me between concerts. "Many people thought these were the very reasons why this festival (now in its seventh year) would not work, but I think these are precisely the reasons why it does."
We tread over the pine branches that have been strewn like a green carpet at the entrance to the Konsertlada to prevent us from sliding on the ice, past the "sparks" – the local sledge – by which several audience members have travelled here, and take our seats just as Kerstin Avemo, one of Sweden's best-known sopranos stomps through a side door. Clad in her winter boots and shaking off her fur hood, she emerges like a butterfly, in a mint-green chiffon gown and pale pink heels and charms the audience with Schubert's Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel.
I sit in my socks, hoping they will have dried by the time the French pianist Julien Quentin is through with his exquisite rendition of Schumann's Piano Quartet in E flat major. It's that kind of festival – no one seems to mind what would be considered a breach of etiquette at a concert hall in Stockholm or Vienna. Here they have come, dressed in their thermal underwear and snow boots, purely to lap up as much world-class music as they can towards the end of what has been a typically long, dark winter.
Mora is in the heart of Sweden, the county of Dalarna famous for the national symbol, the wooden Dala horse and the longest cross-country ski race in the world, the 90km (56-mile) Vasaloppet. The Vasaloppet tracks, which run directly outside my hotel window, are open to anyone. A highly effective way of winding down is to combine some vigorous skiing through the powdery snow of the pine forests with a dose later that evening of Martin Fröst in the Älvdalens church as he charms the haunting tones of Mozart's Clarinet Quintet from his clarinet. The church's interior is bathed in a pompeian red light for the early evening concert. It is the time of day the Swedes call den blå timmen (the blue hour), and the shade of the sky seen through the church windows slips from lilac into a deep purple, adding to the dramatic atmosphere.
The landscape hardly gets more Swedish than Dalarna, with its deep-red wooden houses and farmsteads, the snow-dusted landscape, the icy lakes and towering frozen pines in what is one of the most thinly-populated parts of Europe. The bears and elks which are very much at home in the forests around here are currently enjoying their winter slumbers, though talk at the Frysksas Hotel where we head for lunch one day, is of a pet dog who has just been mauled to death by a bear whom he dared to stir. I could pretend I didn't, but I'll readily admit to trying the Fryksas' range of local fare, including braised bear steak with chanterelles and moose cheek in red wine. The bear is surprisingly tender and sweet-tasting. The Fryksas' hot tub, with its breathtaking views over Lake Orsa, is an ideal way to sooth those aching muscles, après-ski.
Blueberry soup is another local speciality and much favoured by those in training for the Vasaloppet because it is said to be good for hardening the muscles. Over breakfast at the Mora Parken hotel, skiers, musicians and concert-goers sit side-by-side slurping the purple mush which only adds to the unusually intimate feel of this festival.
Much attention is given to detail: everything from the candle-lit alcoves carved out of the snow which light the pathways to concert venues, to the stunning bulbous ice sculptures made by local artist Bernd Janusch, which flank doorways. One evening we participate in a torchlight procession and watch a flame-throwing spectacle in the bitter cold, during which a troupe of local actors retell old nordic tales.
The candlelit dinner that follows offers a welcome relief from the freezing air, and even more heart-warming is the jam session accompanying it, when Frost and his musician friends let rip with impromptu versions of an Ástor Piazzolla number, or the jazz standard, Nature Boy, performed by Avemo together with Fröst, who beckons the star sopranist back on stage, this time as a haunting night-club crooner. It's the type of stuff that helps you reconnect with emotions that may have been on standby and just as importantly, to forget the winter chill.
• Vinterfest 2013 runs 14-17 February. Tickets are available at vinterfest.se or via the Siljan Tourist Office in Mora (+46 248 797200) and vary from around £5.60-£30 per concert. Fly to Stockholm's Arlanda airport with British Airways or SAS and take the train (sj.se) to Mora (about four hours, £31-51 return). Staying there: Mora Parken Hotel (moraparken.se, doubles from £154 a night), or the more picturesque and romantic, but harder to reach Fryksas Hotel (+46 250 46020, fryksashotell.se, doubles from £242 a night)
