British Clarinet Concertos, Vol. 1

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a superb showcase for Michael Collins's talents...I doubt if I've ever hear a finer version of Finzi's 1949 Concerto. The rapt, elegiac intensity of the performance of this works' slow movement,... — BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2012, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 1st Oct 2012
Catalogue No: CHAN10739
Label: Chandos
Length: 65 minutes

This item is currently out of stock at the UK distributor. You may order it now but please be aware that it may be six weeks or more before it can be despatched.

Stanford: Clarinet Concerto in A Minor, Op. 80

Work length21:24

$4.00

$4.55

$5.60

Michael Collins, BBC Symphony Orchestra

I. Allegro moderato

Track length5:51

$1.00

$1.30

$1.60

II. Andante con moto, ma più tranquillo

Track length9:49

$2.00

$1.95

$2.40

III. Tempo I. Allegro moderato

Track length5:44

$1.00

$1.30

$1.60

Finzi: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 31

Work length28:16

$7.00

$6.50

$8.00

Michael Collins, BBC Symphony Orchestra

I. Allegro vigoroso

Track length7:39

$2.00

$1.95

$2.40

II. Adagio, ma senza rigore

Track length12:27

$3.00

$2.60

$3.20

III. Rondo. Allegro giocoso

Track length8:10

$2.00

$1.95

$2.40

Arnold: Clarinet Concerto No. 2, Op. 115

Work length15:58

$4.00

$4.55

$5.60

Michael Collins, BBC Symphony Orchestra

I. Allegro vivace

Track length5:39

$1.00

$1.30

$1.60

II. Lento

Track length8:09

$2.00

$1.95

$2.40

III. The Pre-Goodman Rag. Allegro non troppo

Track length2:10

$1.00

$1.30

$1.60

About
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About

This disc marks the beginning of a new survey of British Clarinet Concertos, featuring the exclusive Chandos artist Michael Collins, who here combines the role of soloist with that of conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Indisputably one of the leading clarinettists of his generation, Michael Collins displays a dazzling virtuosity and sensitive musicianship which have made him a sought-after soloist with orchestras including the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France and the Philadelphia, NHK Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, City of Birmingham Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, BBC Symphony, and Philharmonia orchestras.

In recent seasons he has won increasing regard as a conductor and in September 2010 assumed the post of Principal Conductor of the City of London Sinfonia.

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford wrote extensively for the clarinet. His works include the Sonata, recorded by Michael Collins on CHAN 10704 (and very favourably reviewed in BBC Music, see below), and the Concerto recorded here, which, coincidentally, was the first for the instrument to be composed by a major British composer. This concerto boasts an exuberantly virtuosic solo part, accompanied by an orchestra excluding clarinets, but including a brass section of four horns and two trumpets.

The Clarinet Concerto by Finzi was performed by a young Michael Collins in the final of the first BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, in 1978. The work conjures a sense of fresh spontaneity, as it moves through baroque-inspired pastoralism, Elgarian influences, and lively folk-inspired melody.

The virtuosic Clarinet Concerto No. 2 by Sir Malcolm Arnold bears the dedication: ‘for Benny Goodman with admiration and love’. It had been commissioned three years earlier by the celebrated American jazz clarinettist, who had also established a reputation as a classical performer.

Reviews

Christmas 2012

a superb showcase for Michael Collins's talents...I doubt if I've ever hear a finer version of Finzi's 1949 Concerto. The rapt, elegiac intensity of the performance of this works' slow movement, which displays Collins's tone at its most silken, even spectral, is worth the price of the disc itself.

January 2013

The orchestral playing of the BBC SO is crisp and the clarity of the recording allows one to hear a lot more of the harmonic colour and variety that is lost in some of the others. There is so much energy in the last movement, where Collins shows off not only his splendid agility but also the affecting pathos of the closing pages of the score.

British Clarinet Concertos, Vol. 1

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