CLARINETTIST Michael Collins and pianist Noriko Ogawa join forces for the second recital in Malvern Concert Club's new season.

Members are confident that it will be as successful as last month's concert, where Paul Lewis launched his Beethoven sonnet cycle.

Michael Collins was a teenage prodigy, winning a major prize in BBC's Young Musician of the Year competition at the age of 16.

Since then he has enjoyed a successful career as orchestral player, chamber musician and soloist.

In this concert, he will revisit clarinet concertos by Brahms and Poulenc that he performed when he visited the club in 1994.

Noriko Ogawa is likewise no stranger to the club, being richly applauded when she performed a solo concert in 2001.

She was a prizewinner in the prestigious Leeds competition in 1987 and now spends half the year in Europe, where she records regularly for the BBC, gives chamber recitals and appears with all the major orchestras.

In Japan, she is a major celebrity who has been awarded prizes for her outstanding contribution to the country's cultural scene.

The two musicians have joined forces in recent years to form a partnership that has given concerts worldwide.

As well as the Brahms and Poulenc sonatas, the Malvern concert includes works by Debussy and Saint-Saen and Weber's Grand Duo Concertante.

The concert is at the Forum at 7.30pm on Thursday, October 27. Tickets, priced £14, concessions £13, students £5, are available from 01684 892277.