City Of London Sinfonia

MOZART Symphony No 29 in A
FINZI Clarinet Concerto
HAYDN Symphony No. 22 "The Philosopher"
WEBER Clarinet Quintwt (arr. for clarinet & strings)

Michael Collins - Conductor & Clarinet

City of London Sinfonia performs gems for clarinet.

Ever-popular Michael Collins returns as both soloist and conductor in this programme featuring two very different sides of the clarinet: classical early nineteenth-century virtuosity and twentieth-century jazz.

This will be the first chance to hear Michael Collins with City of London Sinfonia, after he was appointed the orchestra's new Principal Conductor in November 2009. Michael will officially take up the post, along with the new Artistic Director and co-Principal Conductor, Stephen Layton, in September 2010.

Finzi's Clarinet Concerto is his most widely-performed and -recorded orchestral work and reveals his particular empathy for this solo instrument. In this piece the clarinet's equal facility for sustained legato melody and rapid virtuostic figuration is supported by and interacts with Finzi's ever-imaginative writing for strings.

Weber composed very little chamber music and the Clarinet Quintet is more like a concerto with clarinet as soloist and the strings as an accompaniment. The piece was written for the outstanding clarinetist of the Munich Orchestra, Heinrich Bärmann. Weber was so taken with Bärmann's playing that in 1811 he quickly composed two clarinet concertos and a concertino for him. The Quintet was completed four years later on August 25, 1815 - the day before the premiere performance. It is a tribute to Weber's ability that it remains a favourite in the repertory.

Haydn's Symphony No. 22 in E flat major ('Philosopher') is a good example of a work that bridges the late Baroque and early Classical styles. The main musical idea unfolds in the spirit of a chorale; this idea is first intoned by the horns and is answered by the English horns (cor anglais). The incorporation of hunting music into a symphony surely came as a shock to audiences in the 1760s. The 'Philosopher' nichname captured something of the work's thoughtful atmosphere.

Symphony No. 29 reveals serious and intense qualities from the quiet opening Allegro to the dignified elegance of the Andante and rare energy of the Minuet. Mozart thought sufficiently highly of the work to introduce it when he settled in Vienna.

(Please note programme alteration from that originally announced)

Tickets: £9.50, £15.50, £19.50, £22.50