Robson - Steve Reich, Herbert Howells, George Fenton, Graham Fitkin, Roderick Williams, Francis Poulenc, Claude Debussy, Barnaby

Clarinettist Barnaby Robson performs a rich programme of 20th-century and contemporary music for clarinet and piano, including world-premiere recordings. The release opens with Barnaby Robson�s collaboration with BAFTA-winning sound designer Martin Cantwell: a recording of Steve Reich�s intricate New York Counterpoint, which involves eight pre-recorded clarinet lines. Herbert Howells is celebrated for his choral music but his instrumental works are less famous; with pianist Fiona Harris, Robson performs the 1946 version of Howells�s Clarinet Sonata, never recorded before. Three further world-premiere recordings follow: Robson�s arrangement for clarinet, viola and piano of George Fenton�s Snow Leopard � music originally composed for the BBC�s Planet Earth � for which Robson is joined by Simon Chamberlain (piano) and Rebecca Chambers (viola); Graham Fitkin�s mercurial Cusp for solo clarinet; and the witty Red Herring Blues for clarinet and piano by baritone-composer Roderick Williams. The recording is rounded off with two 20th-century French works: Poulenc�s Sonata for two clarinets (Robson has recorded both parts) and Debussy�s dazzling Premi�re Rhapsodie for clarinet and piano.