Spohr: Clarinet Concerto No. 4 in E minor, WoO 20

“…Sabine Meyer makes light of the considerable difficulties of Spohr's Fourth Concerto with soft-grained and wonderfully even tone; Julian Bliss is technically impressive and only slightly less characterful in the Second.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2007 ****

“Spohr… by his own admission, when he started knew nothing about the clarinet apart from its range… But the results… were splendid… No 2 in C minor, colourfully played by Julian Bliss, is full of instrumental invention, pitting the clarinet against some highly original effects and so requiring much care in balance as well as finger dexterity. No 4 is musically a more substantial work... Sabine Meyer takes it with proper seriousness, and makes out a case for this as perhaps the strongest of all Spohr's clarinet concertos.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2007

“Meyer seems largely attuned to the solo parts edited by Stanley Drucker...[he] plays and conducts...assertive or pliant in his role from the rostrum. The conductor in Meyer is very good, the soloist fabulous. Not only does he disdain formidable obstacles, he brings shape, strength and the beauty of entrancingly hushed enunciation to a whole range of Spohr's writing.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2012

“Michael Collins’s artistry is what counts, for Louis Spohr’s music in these clarinet concertos never rises beyond the pleasant. The highlight of No 3 is the slow movement, treated to some of Collins’s most limpid tones, and Spanish touches in No 4 add colour to some dour 19th-century furniture. Spohr eschews cadenzas, but plenty of virtuosity is packed into Collins’s dexterity and kaleidoscopic tones. More sparkle from the Swedish Chamber Orchestra would help.” The Times, 2nd May 2008 ***

“Collins completes his recordings of these delightful concertos with the contrasting works presented here, both in minor keys (F and E, respectively). The F minor is the more brilliant of the two, and Collins dazzles like a bel canto diva in the pyrotechnic leaps, trills and runs, while he lavishes his rich tone, phenomenal breath control and deeply satisfying expressive insights on the E minor.” Sunday Times, 27th April 2008 ****

“Collins plays with an inspirational touch, too, and no more so than in the charming and witty "Rondo al espagnol" that rounds off No 4. Beautifully balanced sound, making this an exceptionally attractive disc.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2008

“Michael Collins repeats the success of his disc of Nos 1 and 2 with elegantly phrased melodies, immaculate passagework and wondrously even trills. The Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Robin O'Neill again provide alert support, and the recording is outstanding.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2008 *****