Mozart - Clarinet Concerto [Collins/ Pletnev-Russian National Orchestra] 

The Beethoven coupling is a novelty i suppose, i can't quite get into it, even as a Violin Concerto i find it a little hard going, but the Mozart work is lighter, and perfect for the Clarinet, with the many Clarinet Concertos that actually do exist, i think it would have been better to have another Concerto [or two] instead, the Mozart Concerto must be the most popular of all time, and it's good to have a modern recording, especially with such distinguished musicians as on this recording.

Michael Collins is English, born in the early sixties i believe, he made this recording in 1997, i like the front cover booklet [photography by Regina Recht], showing a vague picture of Pletnev in the top right hand corner, a monotone yellow / browny colour, while Collins is shown in a more stark black and white [actually black and grey] shot, nice and sharp, with tremendous back / side lighting, a very tall thin shot, showing the fingerwork on the Clarinet, a really nice piece of photography / artwork.

The Mozart Clarinet Concerto is a really happy work, especially the outer movements, but it's the inner slow Adagio that has a degree of nostalgia about it, and it's this movement i liked the most, it's soothing and inspiring, with a fantastic tune, the penultimate section of this tune, is first stated by the Clarinet [1:08-1:39], and then there's a heart tug reply by the orchestra [1:42-2:13], the recording is wonderful, you're able to hear all the breathy moments from Collins, it's worth remembering that this work was composed for a Basset Clarinet, that can reach four semitones lower than a normal Clarinet, creating a nice deep darkness at times, and there's a couple of times where the Clarinet reaches deep into its bass [3:50 & 3:59], lovely and woody / velvety, eventually the original clarinet solo returns [4:36-5:08], and Collins really caresses a lot of mileage by stating this so simply and innocently the second time around, and the passion is just gorgeous from Collins [5:12-5:46], and when the orchestra repeat the theme stronger [5:48-6:19], the whole thing is perfectly complete, a lovely burnished autumnal feeling throughout this movement.

Here's Michael Collins playing the Mozart Concerto on YouTube, the middle Adagio starts at [12:25].

Mozart - Clarinet Concerto [Meyer/ Zinman-English Chamber Orchestra]

Paul Meyer is a French Clarinetist, now 45 years old, he's recorded for a number of labels, and has a lovely discography, mainly RCA, but earlier in his career he recorded some wonderful discs for Denon, this recording comes from 1992, he has now also taken up Conducting.

I bought this disc mainly for the other two works, but after listening to it, i find myself being drawn into the wonderful Mozart world of the clarinet.

I really do love the beautiful slow movement, one of the best things he's ever done, the clarinet is truly a gorgeous versatile instrument, the clarinet makes its appearance right at the very beginning, with its creamy and gentle theme [0:00-0:31], the orchestra mirrors the clarinet lines [0:34-1:03], then comes the truly heavenly second theme from the clarinet, even more creamy than the first, [1:07-1:38] this is the best moment in the Adagio, and of course the orchestra mirrors this second theme also [1:40-2:09], in these two minutes, the very essence of the slow movement is laid out, of course there's a very gentle reprise of the opening [4:13-5:52], this time with the first orchestral mirror left out, the whole thing is fairly short and sweet, unpretentious, the Adagio lets the other two movements take care of the more bravura moments, it allows us all the treat of basking in the sheer peace of this music.

Here's Sharon Kam playing the slow 2nd movement on YouTube.