Britten, Mathias, Finzi & Cooke: British Clarinet Concertos, Vol. 2 BBC Symphony Orchestra & Michael Collins

• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Movements for a Clarinet Concerto:
• 1Britten: Movements for a Clarinet Concerto: I. Molto allegro05:49
• 2Britten: Movements for a Clarinet Concerto: II. Mazura elegiaca08:14
• 3Britten: Movements for a Clarinet Concerto: III. Finale. Allegro05:21
• Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956): Five Bagatelles, Op. 23:
• 4Finzi: Five Bagatelles, Op. 23: I. Prelude03:33
• 5Finzi: Five Bagatelles, Op. 23: II. Romance04:59
• 6Finzi: Five Bagatelles, Op. 23: III. Carol02:03
• 7Finzi: Five Bagatelles, Op. 23: IV. Forlana02:54
• 8Finzi: Five Bagatelles, Op. 23: V. Fughetta02:09
• Arnold Cooke (1906 - 2005): Clarinet Concerto No. 1:
• 9Cooke: Clarinet Concerto No. 1: I. Allegro12:01
• 10Cooke: Clarinet Concerto No. 1: II. Lento10:39
• 11Cooke: Clarinet Concerto No. 1: III. Allegro vivace05:31
• William Mathias (1934 - 1992): Clarinet Concerto, Op. 68:
• 12Mathias: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 68: I. Allegro vivo07:23
• 13Mathias: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 68: II. Lento espressivo07:39
• 14Mathias: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 68: III. Allegro molto vivace04:37
• Total Runtime01:22:52

Info for Britten, Mathias, Finzi & Cooke: British Clarinet Concertos, Vol. 2

This second volume of British Clarinet Concertos follows ‘a stunning recording’ made a Critic’s Choice of the Year in Gramophone (2013). Here again, the exclusive Chandos artist Michael Collins combines the role of soloist with that of conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

The two three-movement concertos included in this album are fine examples of their respective composers’ work. While Arnold Cooke’s Concerto makes the most of the solo instrument’s wide- ranging lyricism, the Concerto with strings and percussion by William Mathias is a virtuoso piece for the instrument, which exploits its capacity for fluent runs and incisive attacks and its affinities with jazz.

The programme is completed by two arrangements, though of different kinds. Benjamin Britten’s Movements for a Clarinet Concerto is the surviving sketch for the opening movement of a concerto which Britten started writing in 1941 for the great American jazz clarinettist Benny Goodman. Gerald Finzi’s Five Bagatelles is a set of short pieces written as a companion piece to Finzi’s well- known Clarinet Concerto - featured on volume 1.

"A specialist title like British Clarinet Concertos, Vol. 2, may not seem to promise much to general listeners. And there is no Britten Clarinet Concerto: the work included is, to quote the track list, "devised and orchestrated" by Colin Matthews, following sketches for one movement made by Britten toward a projected concerto for jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman, combined with clarinet-and-orchestra arrangements of two other short pieces. Don't let these factors dissuade you: this release offers a really delightful hour and a half of music. The Britten is well worth hearing, with an ambitious opening movement followed by two lighter pieces. The Five Bagatelles for clarinet and orchestra, arranged from a group of clarinet-and-piano pieces, are exceptionally lyrical; sample the middle of the five (track six) for a taste of the exceptional cantabile of clarinetist Michael Collins and his organic relationship with the BBC Symphony Orchestra that he directs as well. The Hindemith-influenced music of Arnold Cooke seems to be enjoying renewed attention, and his Clarinet Concerto No. 1 of 1955 (to be sure, the first actual clarinet concerto on the program) artfully combines the solo clarinet with the orchestral winds. The best, perhaps, is saved for last: the Clarinet Concerto, Op. 68, of 1975, composed for the virtuoso Gervase de Peyer by William Mathias, is a brilliant piece incorporating jazz rhythms as well as a great variety of clarinet attacks and intonations. All this music is thoroughly enjoyable, and not a single piece among the four is much heard." (James Manheim, AMG)

"Michael Collins's skills have been a welcome presence on the classical scene for decades now. His way of conjuring moments of mesmerising stillness, among all the virtuosos fireworks, is enough in itself to lift the appeal of this release way beyond the collector's completism…and then there's the BBC Symphony Orchestra's response - ultra-vivid from start to finish." (BBC Music Magazine)

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Michael Collins, clarinet, conductor

Michael Collins
is one of the most complete musicians of his generation. With a continuing, distinguished career as a soloist, he has in recent years also become highly regarded as a conductor and in 2010 took the position of Principal Conductor of the City of London Sinfonia. Recent guest conducting and play-directing highlights have included engagements with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Ulster Orchestra, and the HPAC Orchestra in Kyoto, Japan.

This season Michael will also conduct and perform wth the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a studio concert and work with the Kymi Sinfonietta and Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra for play-direct programmes. He also and makes his debut with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, playing and directing a programme of Mozart, Weber and Rossini. As a soloist, he will work with the Charlotte Symphony and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Future plans include OSESP Sao Paulo, as well as a return to the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Michael Collins has been committed to expanding the repertoire of the clarinet for many years. He has given premières of works such as John Adams’ Gnarly Buttons, Elliott Carter’s Clarinet Concerto - for which he won a Gramophone award for his recording on Deutsche Grammophon - Brett Dean’s Ariel’s Music and Turnage’s Riffs and Refrains, which was commissioned by the Hallé Orchestra. Collins has gone on to perform Turnage’s work with the Residentie Orkest, Royal Flanders and Helsinki Philharmonics, as well as the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Collins has received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award in 2007 in recognition of his pivotal role in premièring repertoire by some of today’s most highly regarded composers.

In great demand as a chamber musician, Collins performs regularly with the Borodin and Takács quartets, András Schiff, Martha Argerich, Stephen Hough, Mikhail Pletnev, Lars Vogt, Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis. His ensemble, London Winds, celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2013 and the group maintains a busy diary with high calibre engagements such as the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival, Edinburgh Festival, City of London Festival, Cheltenham International Festival and Bath Mozartfest. He has a regular relationship with the Wigmore Hall and was one of their Artists in Residence in 2015/16, which includes concerts with London Winds and Christine Rice, Ailish Tynan and with the Borodin Quartet – with whom he will also work at the Cite de la Musique in Paris. Collins is also Artistic Director of the Liberation International Music Festival in Jersey.

Michael Collins records exclusively for Chandos and has covered a wide range of repertoire in his prolific recording career, which also includes releases on Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, EMI and Sony. Recent releases include a disc of British Clarinet Concertos with the BBC Symphony Orchestra which features Collins as soloist and conductor, as well as a disc of Brahms and Reinicke Clarinet Sonatas with pianist Michael McHale. Collins’s 50th Birthday was celebrated with a Chandos release of Weber Concertos conducted and performed by himself with the City of London Sinfonia. He has also recorded concertos by Corigliano, Adams, Carter, as well as Spohr, Copland and of course Mozart. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2015, Michael Collins was awarded an MBE for his services to music. He plays exclusively on Yamaha clarinets.

Booklet for Britten, Mathias, Finzi & Cooke: British Clarinet Concertos, Vol. 2