Finzi: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 31

“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.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2012 *****

“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.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2013

“The young British clarinettist Sarah Williamson, making her debut on disc, finds appropriate colours for both [works], and makes light of their technical demands...David Curtis's Midlands-based Orchestra of the Swan provides reliable support.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2010 ***

“Williamson is infectious in the jazzy passages in the lively finale [of the Copland]...In the cadenza-like passages in both concertos Williamson is wonderfully persuasive, giving the impression of improvising the music, and the Allegro giocoso finale is a delight.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2010

“This is a highly commanding performance of Finzi's gorgeous Clarinet Concerto from Northern Sinfonia principal, Robert Plane. With his bright, singing tone and effortless technical mastery, there's no shortage of intuitive poetry from Plane in the sublime central Adagio. Howard Griffiths's conducting is exemplary. We also get an atmospheric account of Lawrence Ashmore's idiomatic orchestration of the Five Bagatelles (with the poignant 'Romance' a highlight), as well as exquisitely drawn renderings of both the Romance for strings and 'Three Soliloquies' from Finzi's incidental music for a 1946 BBC production of Love's Labour's Lost. The fragrant, very early Severn Rhapsody (1923) makes a welcome return to the catalogue under Griffiths's deeply felt advocacy, and Lesley Hatfield makes a touching soloist in the radiant Introit (the slow movement of a withdrawn Violin Concerto). The sound and balance are extremely truthful, though the acoustic may be a little over-resonant for some tastes.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“A highly accomplished, indeed commanding performance of Finzi's gorgeous Clarinet Concerto....another remarkable British music bargain from Naxos” Gramophone Magazine

“The Cello Concerto was in many ways the composer's swansong… The beautifully slow movement is deeply searching and draws on an Elgarian quality, a poignant nobility. Yo-Yo Ma's wistfully introspective approach - this was his debut recording - captures its gentle intensity and Vernon Handley proves an inspired partner, particularly in the central movement with its exquisite opening and close. There are many recordings of the gorgeous Clarinet Concerto... but John Denman's account is as seductive as any; again Handley is a superbly understanding partner.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2007

“[Ma's] is not a big performance but a greatly inspired one, and many will like his lightness of touch in the finale...John Denman's performance is entirely seductive. And in both works Vernon Handley's sensitive accompaniment brings first-rate playing” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Several other Finzi issues available include the Clarinet Concerto. Alan Hacker, however, encompasses all his colleagues' virtues, providing special insights and revelling in the brilliant writing.
He also adds something extra – an almost mystical realisation of the music's poetic vision which is deeply moving. This is in spite of the fact that the string playing sometimes lacks polish and precision. Finzi wrote incidental music for a BBC production of Love's Labour's Lost and expanded it for a later open-air production. It's tuneful, graceful music, but one can't feel that the stage was Finzi's world. The disc is completed by two interesting early pieces for strings, the Prelude and Romance, both wholly characteristic of the composer and very well played.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010