Gramophone Magazine
June 2018
Recording of the Month

Michael Collins (clarinet/conductor)
Swedish Chamber Orchestra

Crusell: Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 1
Crusell: Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 5
Crusell: Clarinet Concerto No. 3 in B flat major, Op. 11
Crusell: Introduction and Variations on a Swedish Air Op. 12

"It takes an extraordinary degree of skill (and breath control!) to play such technically demanding solo parts while simultaneously leading the players...As to his role as soloist, I can only say that Collins’s first entry made me smile – and kept it there for the entire length of the disc...His faultless clarity and articulation, especially at some of the speeds he adopts, are things to marvel at." - Gramophone Magazine June 2018