W. A. Mozart
Complete Works
for Solo Clarinet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , composer, violinist and piano virtuoso,
was born on January 26,1756 in Salzburg, Austria and died on December
5, 1791 in Vienna, Austria. Mozart’s works are identified by Köchel
numbers (pronounced “Kershel”), named for the Austrian musicologist Ludwig Kochel
who, in 1862, published a numerical list of Mozart’s works in the order
in which they had been written ‑ i.e., K. 1 was the first piece Mozart
wrote and K. 626, the last.
Mozart’s Trio, K. 498 (for clarinet, viola & piano), Quintet, K. 581 (for clarinet & strings) and Concerto, K. 622 (for clarinet & orchestra) were all written for clarinetist Anton Stadler
(1753-1812). Stadler’s younger brother Johann (1755-1802) was also a
clarinetist and even though Anton was the better player, when they
performed together, Anton usually played 2nd - because he preferred the
lower notes of the clarinet. This fascination with lower notes led him
to have a clarinet constructed which could play down to low C - usually
referred to as a Basset-Clarinet.
The Basset-Horn had been invented in 1770 by Mayrhofer;
its range went down to low C but it was usually pitched in F or G.
Mozart’s original sketch (only 199 bars) for the Concerto in 1789 was
for Basset-Horn in G. It is probable that the final versions of both
the Quintet (completed September 29, 1789 and first performed December
22, 1789) and the Concerto (completed in October, 1791, less than two
months before Mozart’s death) were written for Stadler’s Basset-Clarinet in A;
however, the original manuscripts have disappeared (most likely into
Stadler’s hands) as have any examples of Stadler’s actual
Basset-Clarinet. All modern versions of the work are based on editions
for the standard Clarinet in A, published ten years after Mozart’s
death.
Trio, K. 498 (for clarinet, viola & piano) was completed in Vienna on August 5, 1786. It was written for one of his pupils, Franziska von Jacquin (piano) with Mozart himself as violist and his friend Anton Stadler (1753-1812) on clarinet. It is nicknamed Klegelstatt Trio (klegelstatt is the Austrian term for “bowling alley”) because the legend is that Mozart composed the entire work on a single day while bowling with friends.
Mozart - Complete Works for Solo Clarinet: Clarinet Trio (K. 498), Clarinet Quintet (K. 581) & Clarinet Concerto (K. 622)
Solo Clarinet part - 9”X12” - 48 pages - $29.95
Now available
Piano Accompaniment (with Audio CD)
