Background Information to Mozart's Clarinet Concerto

Leopold took Mozart and his sister to Europe in order to make money. The trips were
funded by wealthy patrons giving expensive gifts. As Mozart's talents became more
widely known he received commissions. In 1781 he wrote Idomeneo as a commission
hi Munich and immediately afterwards Archbishop Colloredo called him back to
Salzburg. He was very frustrated in the Archbishop's service and offered his
resignation - he was eventually thrown out.
He was determined to make a career for himself in Vienna as composer, performer
and teacher, but money was always scarce. His fame as a composer led to a few pupils
but they soon dried up and he did not get the Court appointment he was hoping for. In
the early 1780s Mozart joined the society of Freemasons, a powerful underground
organisation and an enemy of the Roman Catholic Church. Despite the success of
Figaro and Don Giovanni no major commissions came to Mozart and he began to
borrow heavily from fellow masons. During this period of great financial need he
wrote symphonies 39, 40 and 41.
In 1788 his financial situation worsened. He was appointed Court Composer to the
Emperor Joseph II but at a nominal salary of 800 florins a year (£80). In 1789 he was
offered the post of Kapellmeister in Berlin for more money but he did not want to
leave Vienna.
In 1790 Constanze became ill and money for doctors' fees had to be found. Cosi fan
tutte was staged in Vienna but was not a financial success. He wrote 2 more operas,
Die Zauberflote and La clemenza di Tito. His last purely orchestral work was the
clarinet concerto performed on October 16th 1791 at the Prague National Theatre at a
benefit concert for Stadler. He died on December 5th 1791 before completing the
Requiem which had been commissioned by a mysterious stranger.
He was buried in an unmarked grave, this was usual for the time, remembered by no-
one as the mourners were unwilling to follow the coffin up to the grave hi the rain.

The orchestra

By the end of the 18th century larger orchestras were becoming the norm, often
including double woodwind, two horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, in addition to strings.
Larger resources resulted in a change in orchestration.
Bass line changes from contrapuntal to providing the harmonies, mainly homophonic.
Woodwind are given short solo passages in addition to doubling violins or providing
harmonic support.
In louder sections brass would thicken the middle of the harmony and sometimes
provide some rhythmic punctuation.
Horns and trumpets were still natural.
These additional resources rendered a basso continue part unnecessary and the
harpsichord dropped out of use.
The orchestra for the clarinet concerto is quite small - no oboes, clarinets, trumpets or
drums. Its sound is more like a chamber orchestra than a symphony orchestra. The
woodwind have little independent material - probably to focus attention on the solo
instrument. Winds all contribute to the general volume and energy and occasionally
double the strings e.g. bars 73-76 bassoons double the viola. Immediately after this
the violin is doubled by the flute.
The 2 horns are unable to play chromatic passages and mainly fill out the tutti
passages, often punctuating rhythmically on tonic and dominant. They double the
violins in bars 46-47 and 292-293. This way of writing is known as horn 5ths or horn
call.
Solo clarinet and horn parts are in A and sound a minor 3rd lower.

Stadler

Anton Stadler (28 June 1753, Bruck an der Leitha- 15 June 1812, Vienna) was an
Austrian clarinet and basset horn player for whom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote
both his Quintet for Clarinet and Strings and Clarinet Concerto.

He was reputed to have a beautiful tone, with exceptional mastery of the low register
of the basset clarinet and basset horn playing. A contemporary Viennese critic,
referring to Stadler, wrote, "I would not have thought that a clarinet could imitate the
human voice so deceptively as you imitate it. Your instrument is so soft, so delicate in
tone that no-one who has a heart can resist it."'-1-' A noted virtuoso, he played second to
his brother Johann in the Vienna Court Orchestra. It was possibly this specialism in
second clarinet along with the basset horn that led to his collaboration with Theodor
Lotz (1748-1792), a clarinet maker. His idea was to add an extension to his B-flat and
A clarinets - in the same vein as the basset horn - an extra major third to a low C. It
was for this extended clarinet (now known as the basset clarinet but initially called a
bass clarinet in the days before the modern bass had been invented) that the Clarinet
Concerto and possibly the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings were written.

'Herr Stadler, a great virtuoso of several wind instruments, presented himself at one of
the concerts performed by amateures [sic] at the Augarten. He played a clarinet with
modifications of his own invention. His instrument does not, as is usual, run straight
down to the bell. About the last quarter of its length is fitted with a transverse pipe from
which the projecting bell flares out further. The advantage of this modification is that
the instrument gams more depth by this means and in the lowest notes resembles the
horns.'

Mozart's preference for the clarinet in A which had a sweeter more melancholy sound
than the Bb was shared by few composers.

20 February 1788, a surviving concert programme heralds the arrival of a newly

extended clarinet. It announces 'Herr Stadler the elder, in the service of his majesty the
Kaiser, will play a concerto on the Bass- Klarinet and a variation on the Bass-Klarinet,
an instrument of new invention and manufacture of the court instrument maker
Theodor Loz; this instrument has two more tones than the normal clarinet.'

Stadler's instrument has become known as the basset clarinet to avoid confusion with
the bass clarinet and to show kinship with the basset horn.

Mozart developed a love affair with the basset horn during the 1780s. Its acoustical
make-up produces an eerie tone quality. The bore is fractionally wider than a clarinet's
and the instrument is much shorter. It was associated with masonic ritual.
Anton Stadler was born outside Vienna in 1750 and the family moved to Vienna in
1753 where his brother Johann was born. A programme for a concert on 21st March
1773 shows that both brothers were playing clarinet, hi 1782 the Stadlers were invited
to join the orchestra of the Viennese imperial court and the following year they were
members of the emperor's Harmonic, in which Anton played second clarinet to his
brother. Despite being the better player Anton was preoccupied with the lower register
of the instrument.

Mozart's first encounter with the brothers was in 1784 when his Serenade for thirteen
instruments was performed at Stadler's benefit concert at the National Court Theatre.
Mozart wrote thirteen works for basset horn between the end of 1783 and 1785.

Mozart's writing for the clarinet progressed from 1781 firstly with the development of
the cantabile qualities of the upper register, then gradually the chalumeau register
achieved a melodic status. The Serenade K.361/370a represents the most important
milestone in Mozart's development as a composer for clarinet and basset horn thus far.

The Clarinet Trio K498 was written for the pianist Francesca von Jacquin and was first
played with Stadler on clarinet. It includes his favourite techniques and idioms
including accompaniment figuration in the chalumeau register, as well as melodic
figures in that range.

Don Giovanni (1787) makes increasing use of clarinets throughout and began to
threaten the predominance of the oboe. This was due to the assertion that the clarinet
symbolised progress and new ideals while the oboes retained an association with the
aristocracy and the monarchy.

A surviving programme for a concert on 20 February 1788 heralds the arrival of the
newly extended clarinet. It announces a concert at the Hoftheater at which 'Herr
Stadler the elder, hi the service of his majesty, the Kaiser, will play a concerto on the
Bass-Klarinet and a variation on the Bass-Klarinet, an instrument of new invention
and manufacture of the court instrument maker Theodor Loz; this instrument has two
more tones than the normal clarinet.' Stadler's instrument has become known in
recent times as the basset clarinet to reflect its kinship with the basset horn.

A fully chromatic basset clarinet is mentioned for the first time, 'Stadler had ...
improved his instrument and added notes at the bottom, so that e is no longer the
lowest note, but rather the c below this. He also takes the intervening c# and d# with
amazing ease.' Its maker, Lotz, died in 1792 and Stadler immediately claimed credit
for it although there is no evidence that he made instruments.

Mozart's Clarinet Quintet in A K581 was completed on 29 September 1789 and

premiered by Stadler on 22 December at a concert given for the benefit of widows and
orphans.

The autograph scores of the Quintet and the Concerto were both lost by Stadler
(possibly pawned). The Quintet was first published in 1802 and was written for clarinet
in A even though the basset clarinet was the intended instrument. A surviving fragment
of a Rondo, possibly intended as a finale for the Quintet includes a 15 bar
Anton David and Vincent Springer (2 Bohemian players) proved a catalyst. From
1783 -1785 he produced 13 works for the instrument and those two along with the
Stadlers inspired the scoring of his Serenade K361.. hi the Musical Almanach for
1784 the instrument was said to be unknown and a kind of bass clarinet.

Mozart and Stadler

Mozart's Clarinet Concerto was his final instrumental work. Mozart's association
with the clarinettist Anton Stadler radically advanced the profile of the instrument and
its idiomatic potential. The Concerto marks the culmination of a century of
astonishing activity in the history of the clarinet following its development in the
years around 1700. The three main factors in the creation of this masterpiece are:

• Mozart met the virtuoso Stadler

• Vienna was at the forefront of developments in clarinet manufacture

• the clarinet had recently reached a state of technical development which made it an
ideal vehicle for Mozart's genius.

Despite a long history in folk music there is no evidence of clarinets in in art music
until just before 1700. At the beginning of the 18th century two instruments were
developed which between them covered the range used in Mozart's concerto.

The lower instrument was the chalumeau, developed by Denner as a two keyed
instrument with a recorder type joint at the bottom. This instrument had a range of an
eleventh or twelfth.

The higher instrument was the clarone. Also developed by Denner it was two and a
half palms long terminating in a trumpet like bell. The sound was described as high
and vigorous and contemporary writers stated that from afar it sounded like a trumpet.

The chalumeau repertoire is extensive, with contributions from Vivaldi, Telemarm and
Handel. The long Viennese tradition of writing for the instrument bears directly upon
Mozart's work. The instrument was used in the 1710s, took part in the Viennese
versions of Gluck's Orfeo (1762) and Alceste (1767) and survived into the 1770s.

Rather less early repertoire for the higher instrument has come to light.

After the middle of the 18 century the linking of the clarinet and trumpet sound - the
Italian term 'clarinetto' is a diminutive of 'clarino' (the high trumpet sound) - led
towards clarinet writing which attempted to emulate the human voice. This coincided
with a period of development which led to the 5 keyed clarinet. By the 1770s and
1780s the clarinet's potential for agility became appreciated. With its five-keyed
configuration it could play rapid scales and arpeggios, wide leaps and its lyrical
qualities were being recognised.
solo clarinet passage which demonstrates writing for the instrument in soprano, alto,
tenor and bass clefs - Mozart's joke at the expense of Stadler.

Mozart's choice of tonality for the Quintet and Concerto is interesting. The Bb clarinet
is reckoned to have a stronger sound - more suited to solo playing, while the A clarinet
has a sweeter, more melancholy sound.

Mozart arrived in Prague on 28 August 1791 for the first performance of his opera La
Clemenza di Tito. Stadler was there to perform the two obbligato numbers and the
writing demonstrates Stadler's favourite techniques. Slow lyrical melody, chromatic
passages, a wide variety of arpeggiated patterns and deep, rich sonorities. Afterwards
Mozart returned to Vienna but Stadler stayed in Prague in order to give the first
performance of the Clarinet Concerto on 16th October in the Prague National Theatre.
This was a benefit concert for Stadler and documents show that after payment to the
poor fund of two florins, permission was granted to Stadler to give a concert.

Mozart and Stadler were both Masons. When Stadler begged Mozart to lend him
money Mozart felt honour bound to help a friend and fellow mason. He died before
any money (the equivalent of approx. £15,000 today) was repaid. The concerto was
written over a few weeks with the orchestration of the Rondo taking just one night after
drinking black coffee and smoking a pipe of tobacco. There is a surviving fragment
(199 bars) of a basset clarinet concerto in G whose music is identical to that of the
Concerto.

Two months after the first performance Mozart was dead.