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Editorial Reviews

Clarinetist Michael Collins' name is virtually synonymous with performances at Wigmore Hall, so this live performance at the famed London concert venue is natural. Although the literature chosen for this album demonstrates Collins' penchant for chamber music collaboration, he is most certainly the star of the two works, and rightfully so. The album opens with Schubert's "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen" (Shepherd on the Rock) with soprano Ailish Tynan and violinist Malcolm Martineau. Although this work, one of Schubert's last, is not given top billing on the program, it is by far the more successful. Interplay between the three artists is consistently elegant and all three contribute equally to the word painting in this profound work. The "big piece" on the album is Schubert's "Octet," heavily modeled after Beethoven's "Septet." Unlike the song that precedes it, the members of the octet do not perform together with as much unity and sophistication. Notoriously difficult for the matching of intonation and sound quality, this performance of the "Octet" is no different. Although Collins' playing is quite solid, there are frequent intonation problems between him and first violinist Isabelle van Keulen. The sound of the double bass is quite muffled and, at times, completely absent. Musically, the performance is quite satisfying; the rather long second-movement Adagio is kept moving and interesting and the finale is spirited and jaunty. Still, the highlight of this album is certainly the "Shepherd on the Rock"; listeners may find superior alternatives for the octet elsewhere. Mike Brownell, All Music Guide

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