This is a delightful disc, not just through the warmth and fun of the five works by five composers, but through the magic of the great clarinettist Michael Collins.

It is good that he is being given the freedom to choose his repertory imaginatively as here. Malcolm Arnold’s Sonatina, an early work, is characteristic in the jazzy energy of the outer movements and the heart-easing lyricism of the central slow movement. Arnold Cooke’s Sonata is on a much larger scale, in four movements, with the first and third warmly lyrical if not very memorably so, and attractive syncopations in the second and fourth, with delicious repeated notes in the jaunty finale.

Tributes by Edward Gregson consists of five charming, well-contrasted miniatures, ending with a chirpy finale which again gives Collins the chance to demonstrate his agility in playing rapidly repeated notes. © 2013 Gramophone Read complete review on Gramophone