For Clarinet solo with wind quartet and string quartet. Score OnlyFirst performed by Michael Collins Clarinet London Winds and the Endellion String Quartet on 27th January 2011 at the Wigmore Hall London.Scoring:Solo ClarinetFluteOboeBassoonFrench Horn2 ViolinsViolaCelloDuration:circa 13 minutes'During a visit to the exhibition of Francis Bacon at the Tate Gallery in December 2008my eye fell on Figure in a Landscape 1945 which resonated in me powerfully. It is a sceneof devastation and despair and also it seemed to me of latent anger and hostility... butabove it all a serene blue sky beckons. So perhaps even in the darkest moments there is aglimmer of hope - the possibility of change.This idea became the starting point for this work - Towards the Blue - a mini concerto forclarinet who eventually becomes the leader of the group.The work starts without the clarinet and all is desolate yet fiercely argumentative discordant and uncomfortable. Suddenly the offstage clarinet is heard and the players insurprise are quietened. However when the clarinet enters and approaches with a lyricalmusical motif some of the players respond others resist. Gradually the clarinetpersuades the dissident voices to join him in a spirit of co-operation and harmony.A brief memory of the opening desolation casts a momentary shadow which is quicklydispelled by the coda marked Gioioso.'Thea Musgrave (May 13th 2010)Parts available for hire separately

Score and Parts-Score and Parts. For Clarinet and String Quartet. Written in 1994 the premiere performance was given by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Alice Tully Hall New York City David Shifrin clarinet.

The first movement of Mozart's second clarinet quintet-Mozart's Sonata Allegro For Clarinet And String Quartet is certainly an exciting addition to the Clarinet repertoire. The first movement of Mozart's projected Second Clarinet Quintet the 'fragment' that is the basis of this work had been known about for many years and was always considered a trial run for the great K581; however recent dating has shown the two pages of manuscript date from after the Clarinet Quintet.The distinguished Mozart scholar Timothy Jones has proved this to be the beginning of a response to the popularity of K581. It was only as a result of his early death that the workremained incomplete. Jones has completed the work using his deep knowledge of late Mozart and we have now a very important new addition to the Clarinet Quintet repertoire.