Dr Ingrid E. Pearson, Royal College of Music, London

This presentation focusses on the distinctive pair of Bb clarinets by George Miller in the Bate Collection, which also appear in Johan Joseph Zoffany’s oil-on-canvas entitled The Sharp Family, on display in the Museum.

These clarinets provide a lens through which to explore aspects of late 18th-century life including English clarinet design, Miller’s career, and the popularity of the five-keyed clarinet. Dr Pearson will also discuss Zoffany’s oeuvre amidst his current reputation for naturalistic portrayals of his subjects’ lives and the unfavourable contemporary reception of The Sharp Family, and the wider scene of music-making in late 18th-century London, particularly amongst the aristocracy.

The talk will be accompanied by performances of music of the period on the Miller clarinets and other instruments.