Sonata in F. Op.24 - Beethoven

Grand Duo Concertante Op.48 - Weber

Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise, Op.22 - Chopin

Sonata for clarinet and piano, Op.22 - Chopin

Sonata for clarinet and piano, Op.167 - Saint-Saens

Sonata for clarinet and piano - Poulenc

Following his performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto arranged for clarinet and orchestra by Mikhail Pletnev, Michael Collins has transcribed Beethoven's Violin Sonata, the Spring, and it was heard for the first time in the New Pavilion Theatre on Sunday. The new version could hardly be preferred to the original but it makes a more than acceptable addition to the clarinet repertoire, and it enables the listener to look at the work in a fresh light. It was only in those places where the clarinet has a purely accompanying role that the balance seemed not quite right; the clarinet tone was too beautiful!

With the works by Weber and Saint-Saens one was back in true clarinet territory; the treatment of the instruments made the Beethoven sound thin by comparison. Weber's Grand Duo gave opportunities for both deeply felt expressiveness and good humoured display, which both performers availed of to the utmost - without, however, sounding virtuosic for the sake of virtuosity. The dark tune that opens the slow movement of the Saint-Saens, played in the low register of the clarinet, showed that Michael Collins can abandon his silky tone and play with equal mastery in a rougher style.

Simon Mulligan is a skilled accompanist and in his piano solo, Chopin's Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise he showed a lightness of touch that rivalled that of the composer himself. Both players delighted in the cheekiness of Poulenc's Sonata - it is hard to take even the slow movement seriously, despite the nicely gauged approach - and it was a light-hearted end to the recital.