Mozart & Birchall: Clarinet Concertos Michael Collins, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wigmore Soloists & Robin O'Neill

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791): Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622:
• 1 Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622: I. Allegro 12:18
• 2 Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622: II. Adagio 07:37
• 3 Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622: III. Rondo 08:28
• Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581:
• 4 Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581: I. Allegro 09:17
• 5 Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581: II. Larghetto 06:33
• 6 Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581: III. Menuetto 06:52
• 7 Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581: IV. Allegretto con variazioni 09:14
• Richard Birchall: Clarinet Concerto:
• 8 Birchall: Clarinet Concerto: I. Metamorphosis 08:42
• 9 Birchall: Clarinet Concerto: II. Still Life 06:17
• 10 Birchall: Clarinet Concerto: III. Impossible Construction 04:46
• Total Runtime 01:20:04

Info for Mozart & Birchall: Clarinet Concertos

The two concertos performed here by Michael Collins and the Philharmonia Orchestra were both intended for a specific player – Mozart composed his for Anton Stadler and Richard Birchall for Michael Collins himself. Both works – as well as Mozart's Clarinet Quintet – were also written for a particular instrument: the basset clarinet, a slightly larger and deeper clarinet than the one in A which soon after Mozart had written his concerto became the standard. At the very core of the clarinet repertoire, the two works by Mozart have until recently been played on the A clarinet, with necessary adjustments being made to the solo part. Nowadays, however, they are more and more often performed on the instrument they were intended for.

Richard Birchall, in his Concerto for Basset Clarinet, also makes the most of the basset clarinet's extended range, for instance in the third movement, Impossible Construction. That movement, and indeed the whole work, is inspired by the artwork of M. C. Escher and its combination of surreal elements and mathematical precision. With the two concertos, Michael Collins continues his long-standing collaboration with the Philharmonia Orchestra, which includes an acclaimed recording on BIS of works by Vaughan Williams and Finzi. For the Clarinet Quintet he has invited his colleagues from the Wigmore Soloists, the chamber ensemble that he leads together with Isabelle van Keulen.

Michael Collins, clarinet
Philharmonia Orchestra
Wigmore Soloists
Robin O'Neill, 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. Orchestras with which he has appeared include the Philharmonia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Kyoto Symphony Orchestra. From 2010 until 2018 he was principal conductor of the City of London Sinfonia. Michael Collins has been committed to expanding the repertoire of the clarinet for many years. He has given premières of works by John Adams, Elliott Carter, Brett Dean and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Collins received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award in 2017.

In great demand as a chamber musician, Collins performs regularly with the Borodin, Heath and Belcea quartets, András Schiff, Martha Argerich, Stephen Hough, Mikhail Pletnev, Lars Vogt, Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis. His ensemble, London Winds, celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2018 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. Michael Collins has recorded an extraordinarily wide range of solo repertoire. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2015, he was awarded an MBE for his services to music.

Booklet for Mozart & Birchall: Clarinet Concertos