Strauss: Concertante Works BBC Symphony Orchestra & Michael Collins

• Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949):
• 1 Burleske in D Minor, TrV 145 20:09
• Duett-Concertino, TrV 293:
• 2 Duett-Concertino, TrV 293: I. Allegro moderato 05:53
• 3 Duett-Concertino, TrV 293: II. Andante 03:03
• 4 Duett-Concertino, TrV 293: III. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo 09:34
• Richard Strauss:
• 5 Romanze in E-Flat Major, TrV 80 08:24
• Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 8, TrV 110:
• 6 Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 8, TrV 110: I. Allegro 15:02
• 7 Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 8, TrV 110: II. Lento, ma non troppo 05:59
• 8 Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 8, TrV 110: III. Rondo. Presto 08:14
• Total Runtime 01:16:18

Info for Strauss: Concertante Works

The Romanze is Strauss’ first attempt at writing for a soloist and orchestra. The influence of Mozart’s piano concertos, which Strauss was studying at the time, is apparent, not least in the writing for solo clarinet and the orchestral bassoon, and re-visited by Strauss in his final instrumental work the Duett-Concertino from 1947. Like other of his late compositions, this work seems to reject the full-blown expressionism for which we know Strauss best, and reflects a more neo-classical sound. Another early work, the Violin Concerto was first performed in 1882, and demonstrates Strauss’ growing technical skill and developing compositional voice. Strauss ultimately came to distance himself from a piece which he presumably regarded as unrepresentative of his mature style. Many commentators on the works of Strauss have felt that the Burleske was a significant turning point in his development, seemingly pointing the way ahead to the technical dexterity and emotional palette of his later tone poems. Originally written for Strauss’s mentor in Dresden Hans von Bülow, the work was premiered by Eugen d’Albert, in 1890 following von Bülow’s rejection of the work.

Tasmin Little, violin
Michael McHale, piano
Michael Collins, clarinet
Julie Price, bassoon
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Michael Collins
is one of the most complete musicians of his generation. With a continuing, distinguished career as a soloist, he has in recent years also become highly regarded as a conductor and in 2010 took the position of Principal Conductor of the City of London Sinfonia. Recent guest conducting and play-directing highlights have included engagements with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Ulster Orchestra, and the HPAC Orchestra in Kyoto, Japan.

This season Michael will also conduct and perform wth the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a studio concert and work with the Kymi Sinfonietta and Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra for play-direct programmes. He also and makes his debut with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, playing and directing a programme of Mozart, Weber and Rossini. As a soloist, he will work with the Charlotte Symphony and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Future plans include OSESP Sao Paulo, as well as a return to the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Michael Collins has been committed to expanding the repertoire of the clarinet for many years. He has given premières of works such as John Adams’ Gnarly Buttons, Elliott Carter’s Clarinet Concerto - for which he won a Gramophone award for his recording on Deutsche Grammophon - Brett Dean’s Ariel’s Music and Turnage’s Riffs and Refrains, which was commissioned by the Hallé Orchestra. Collins has gone on to perform Turnage’s work with the Residentie Orkest, Royal Flanders and Helsinki Philharmonics, as well as the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Collins has received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award in 2007 in recognition of his pivotal role in premièring repertoire by some of today’s most highly regarded composers.

In great demand as a chamber musician, Collins performs regularly with the Borodin and Takács quartets, András Schiff, Martha Argerich, Stephen Hough, Mikhail Pletnev, Lars Vogt, Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis. His ensemble, London Winds, celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2013 and the group maintains a busy diary with high calibre engagements such as the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival, Edinburgh Festival, City of London Festival, Cheltenham International Festival and Bath Mozartfest. He has a regular relationship with the Wigmore Hall and was one of their Artists in Residence in 2015/16, which includes concerts with London Winds and Christine Rice, Ailish Tynan and with the Borodin Quartet – with whom he will also work at the Cite de la Musique in Paris. Collins is also Artistic Director of the Liberation International Music Festival in Jersey.

Michael Collins records exclusively for Chandos and has covered a wide range of repertoire in his prolific recording career, which also includes releases on Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, EMI and Sony. Recent releases include a disc of British Clarinet Concertos with the BBC Symphony Orchestra which features Collins as soloist and conductor, as well as a disc of Brahms and Reinicke Clarinet Sonatas with pianist Michael McHale. Collins’s 50th Birthday was celebrated with a Chandos release of Weber Concertos conducted and performed by himself with the City of London Sinfonia. He has also recorded concertos by Corigliano, Adams, Carter, as well as Spohr, Copland and of course Mozart. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2015, Michael Collins was awarded an MBE for his services to music. He plays exclusively on Yamaha clarinets.

Booklet for Strauss: Concertante Works