When clarinettist Emma Johnson won BBC Young Musician of the Year back in 1984, the musical world discovered an artist of unique charm, skill and charisma. Widely regarded as Britain's favourite clarinettist, Johnson is still one of the most popular figures on the concert scene, with an unparalleled ability to speak straight to an audience's heart. And that's what she'll do tonight, in Mozart's sublime Clarinet Concerto - music that regularly tops the Classic FM Hall of Fame. But that's just one facet of Johnson's musical personality, and Copland's all-American Concerto - by terms lyrical and irresistibly jazzy - shows an altogether sassier side of this wonderful soloist. The Northern Sinfonia, under its leader Kyra Humphreys, matches these two concertos with another piece of classic Americana - Barber's haunting Adagio - and a joyous portrait of Mozart at the height of his teenage genius: the galloping strings and whooping horns of his exuberant 29th Symphony.| 24 Jan 15 | Warwick Arts Centre Coventry, West Midlands Performance Details => Venue archive |
