Michael Collins; Isabelle van Keulen; Michael McHale - CLARINET TRIOS: MOZART, SCHUMANN, BRUCH, STRAVINSKY

As core members of the ensemble Wigmore Soloists, Michael Collins, Isabelle van Keulen and Michael McHale present four works for clarinet trio composed over a period of some 130 years. Mozart�s Kegelstatt Trio was long believed to have been composed during a game of bowling. The writing is reminiscent of a conversation between three friends in which contrasts are not excluded: we hear affection, divergences and even disagreements. This atmosphere of friendly, playful, and sometimes very intimate exchange also pervades Schumann�s M�rchenerz�hlungen (Fairy Tales). While its spirited conviviality might give the impression that this work was the product of idyllic times, it was actually composed during Schumann�s last full year of sanity before his final mental collapse in 1854.