Image: Michael Collins. Photo © Jack Lewis Williams

Who better than Michael Collins to light up music commissioned from Bela Bartók by America's jazz clarinet great?

What makes one performer charismatic and another dull? When Michael Collins speaks through the clarinet, everyone’s ears prick up. Purpose, meaning and drama shine through every phrase.

His chameleonic shifting tone and precise articulation flies from sweet to spiky to soulful in the blink of an eye. Like the finest of actors, Collins embodies the emotional theatre in Bartók, Poulenc and Copland’s music.

In Copland’s Concerto for Clarinet and Strings, Collins stands in front of a formidable team of overseas and homegrown string royalty. Now and then he waves his hands to direct the players but these gestures are superfluous because the responsive ensemble performs with insight and marvellous precision – an ideal tonal backdrop for Collins’ extraordinarily fine playing. He breezes through the demanding solo Coda, which Goodman ruled was beyond his capabilities, in this wonderful interpretation.

Prolonged applause greets all of those involved in this outstanding recital.

Read my whole review on Limelight Arts, here.