‘He has a temper, a primitive force harsh and clumsy, with a smattering of blue-eyed Danish amenity.’ So wrote a reviewer about the dedicatee of Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto, Aage Oxenvad, after his performance of the work’s premiere in 1928, and there’s something of that quality in this performance by Maximiliano Martín, whose playing communicates the volatile, querulous and contemplative nature of the music with striking vividness. In the accelerando that occurs shortly after the first cadenza (track 4, 7'27"), there’s a strong sense of fraying tempers and upset companions, and this is followed by a Poco adagio of considerable mystery and otherworldliness. The orchestral contribution under Lucas Macías Navarro has a matching immediacy and depth of feeling, and altogether this new performance of the concerto is at least as fine as those by Olle Schill (BIS, 8/86) and Sabine Meyer (Warner, A/07).

MacMillan’s Tuireadh (‘Lament’), dedicated to the victims of the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster of 1988, was originally composed for clarinet and string quartet, but the composer’s later rescoring for clarinet and string orchestra has proved more popular on disc. This is its third recording, joining those by Martin Fröst (BIS, 3/03) and Lars Wouters van de Oudeweijer (Challenge, 9/14). The latter recording has the advantage of being conducted by the composer, but this new performance is also a powerful and moving one. Martín also offers a vivid performance of Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, but a slight lack of poise in the rapt opening movement and an element of deliberation in the jazzy finale prevented me from enjoying this performance as much as those of the other two works. Nevertheless, a very impressive release for the most part, and the sound quality is excellent.