# The Clarinet



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

How wonderful this instrument is. I feel if there were a wind instrument I'd like to lean, it would be Clarinet. Especially in Mozart's music, it adds the to light-hearted, bouncey nature of his music more than any other instrument to my ears in the symphonies, at least. It's so smooth, and when played to my taste, adds the most color to a symphony in my opinion, as stated above, especially in Mozart.


Here here to this wonderful instrument!


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

This thread was inspired by Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A, K 622.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Captainnumber36 said:


> How wonderful this instrument is. I feel if there were a wind instrument I'd like to lean, it would be Clarinet. Especially in Mozart's music, it adds the to light-hearted, bouncey nature of his music more than any other instrument to my ears in the symphonies, at least. It's so smooth, and when played to my taste, adds the most color to a symphony in my opinion, as stated above, especially in Mozart.
> 
> Here here to this wonderful instrument!
> 
> :


As an amateur clarinet player, I couldn't agree more. Are you familiar with Brahms's four chamber music works for the clarinet?


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Under the radar but brilliant are the two Weber Clarinet Concertos & the Concertino.

Also the Four Spohr (sounds like the beginning of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address) Clarinet Concertos are badly under-appreciated.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

I always remember a quote I read that some recording engineer (charged with editing) said to Richard Stolzman: "Oh, you're the one whose notes have no beginning."


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Although Schubert's Octet is not generally thought of as a clarinet work, the clarinet part in it is gorgeous.

Other favorites include

Debussy - Premiere Rhapsodie
Schumann - Three Fantasy Pieces
Poulenc - Sonata
Saint-Saens - Sonata
Bruch - 8 Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (although not all at once)
Hindemith - Sonata
Ravel - Introduction and Allegro
Finzi - Bagatelles
and of course Mozart's other works for clarinet


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## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

One of my favorite clarinet solos would be Tchaikovsky's 6th symphony. Such a beautiful sound, and the amazing amount of thinking it takes to play such a simple melody. Dynamics is no easy feat to master!


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

I'm currently composing a piece for Clarinet and Piano.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

jegreenwood said:


> As an amateur clarinet player, I couldn't agree more. Are you familiar with Brahms's four chamber music works for the clarinet?


I'll take a listen!


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Yes, the clarinet has a beautiful sound. I love the clarinet passages in Beethoven's sixth symphony (your wedding piece).


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Bettina said:


> Yes, the clarinet has a beautiful sound. I love the clarinet passages in Beethoven's sixth symphony (your wedding piece).


No doubt!


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## Lenny (Jul 19, 2016)

Brahms, Brahms, Brahms.... But also Franz Schmidt's quintets. And what about Zemlinsky's lovely Trio for clarinet, cello and piano? But those could be well written by Brahms himself. I have no trouble with that. What we need more in this stupid world is Brahms-influenced clarinet chamber music, not less.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Definitely the most versatile wind instrument.

It can be light-hearted - but also profoundly sad, as in the above mentioned Brahms pieces.


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Don't forget all the gorgeous wind quintet repertoire to which the clarinet is a major contributor.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bernhard Henrik Crusell - Clarinet Concerto No.2 in F-minor, Op.5 
Enjoy !!


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

hpowders said:


> Under the radar but brilliant are the two Weber Clarinet Concertos & the Concertino.
> 
> Also the Four Spohr (sounds like the beginning of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address) Clarinet Concertos are badly under-appreciated.


Listened to the First Concerto tonight (Sabine Meyer). Very enjoyable.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Pugg said:


> Bernhard Henrik Crusell - Clarinet Concerto No.2 in F-minor, Op.5
> Enjoy !!


Crusell also wrote several duets for two clarinets, which I used to play with my teacher.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

hpowders said:


> Under the radar but brilliant are the two Weber Clarinet Concertos & the Concertino.


Under the radar!? I agree that they are brilliant, and are treated as one of the go-to clarinet concertos from any era for it!


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

I did 2 yrs on clarinet and sold it when I came to NZ, a decision I regret it is such a versatile instrument at home in classical and jazz.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

FINZI Clarinet Concerto .
very good piece.


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## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

If I were a woodwind player I would be a clarinetist. Has the most beautiful timbre of all the woodwinds in my opinion.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Gordontrek said:


> If I were a woodwind player I would be a clarinetist. Has the most beautiful timbre of all the woodwinds in my opinion.


Huh. I would pick bassoon.


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## manyene (Feb 7, 2015)

The clarinet and the cello are my favourite orchestral instruments.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Bettina said:


> Yes, the clarinet has a beautiful sound. I love the clarinet passages in Beethoven's sixth symphony (your wedding piece).


Beethoven Sym #6 has beautiful parts for clarinet and bassoon, a great combination. Beethoven loved this combination, and his works show many examples - Sym #2, and #4 esp. Brahms uses it often to great effect also - esp in Symphony #3.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Captainnumber36 said:


> This thread was inspired by Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A, K 622.


This piece is probably one of Mozart's most underrated piece. The 2nd movement is simple, melodic and one may say lyrical or conversational. Yet it has so much emotions, depth, longing and unfulfilled desires. Wonderful stuff!


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## Harmonie (Mar 24, 2007)

The instrument that stole a fair amount of roles from my instrument (oboe). 

No, seriously, excuse me for that - I'm researching the history of the oboe and its use in music through the Baroque and Classic periods for my music history class, so this fact just happens to be oh-so-_very_ fresh on my mind.

Mozart's Clarinet Concerto was one of the first classical (in the general sense of the term, not the narrow one) pieces I ever fell in love with. And the clarinet was actually the first woodwind I ever (attempted to) learned to play. I found that something about single reeds and their mouthpieces did not work well with me, because the clarinet made my mouth really hurt, and so I went to double reeds (not necessarily for that reason, but that is the reason I never lasted on single-reed instruments). I don't know if it is something that I could build a resistance to over time.

Nowadays, the clarinet is far from my favorite wind instrument... Except for the bass clarinet. The bass clarinet is among my favorites. If only I could play it! (I do own one).


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Pugg said:


> Bernhard Henrik Crusell - Clarinet Concerto No.2 in F-minor, Op.5
> Enjoy !!


This is amazing! The fiery side of the Clarinet, indeed.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Currently listening to the four Spohr concertos, perhaps the most difficult concertos ever written for the clarinet.

I need to get some new reeds! :lol:


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

Clarinet works well with organ, too.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

hpowders said:


> Currently listening to the four Spohr concertos, perhaps the most difficult concertos ever written for the clarinet.
> 
> I need to get some new reeds! :lol:


I love his works in partic Octet and Nonet


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Portamento said:


> Under the radar!? I agree that they are brilliant, and are treated as one of the go-to clarinet concertos from any era for it!


To non-clarinet afficionados. Most folks have never heard these Weber pieces.

For them, I would tie them to a stake and play the Corigliano Clarinet Concerto 'til they have nosebleeds.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Dan Ante said:


> I love his works in partic Octet and Nonet


Yeah. A sadly neglected composer.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Krummhorn said:


> Clarinet works well with organ, too.


Sounds like something Rheinberger would have done.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Franz Anton Dimmler - Clarinet Concerto in B-flat major

Another fine clarinet concert piece.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Pugg said:


> Franz Anton Dimmler - Clarinet Concerto in B-flat major
> 
> Another fine clarinet concert piece.


Is this Classical era? It's fantastic.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Captainnumber36 said:


> How wonderful this instrument is. I feel if there were a wind instrument I'd like to lean, it would be Clarinet. Especially in Mozart's music, it adds the to light-hearted, bouncey nature of his music more than any other instrument to my ears in the symphonies, at least. It's so smooth, and when played to my taste, adds the most color to a symphony in my opinion, as stated above, especially in Mozart.
> 
> Here here to this wonderful instrument!
> 
> :


It's a wonderful instrument with romantic vocal qualities, very warm. The next closest to share this is the Baroque oboe (not the modern oboe). Mozart loved the instrument.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

jegreenwood said:


> Although Schubert's Octet is not generally thought of as a clarinet work, the clarinet part in it is gorgeous.
> 
> Other favorites include
> 
> ...


Can't believe I forgot to include Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

jegreenwood said:


> Can't believe I forgot to include Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time


Please help me understand this piece! It just leaves me confused and bewildered why it's so famous. I get a headache when I listen to it.

It's probably an amazing piece but I just don't get it!


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Tchaikov6 said:


> Please help me understand this piece! It just leaves me confused and bewildered why it's so famous. I get a headache when I listen to it.
> 
> It's probably an amazing piece but I just don't get it!


So did I the first time I listened to it. And I got rid of my recording. Then friends made me buy one again.

For me, the trick was not to worry so much about the first movement (which I found the most disorienting). Start with the slow portion of the second movement and the clarinet solo.

After a few listenings the first movement will fall into place as well.


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

Lately when I've thought of the clarinet, it occurred to me that it might be my least favorite solo instrument. It has such an awkward sound to it....the flute can sound beautiful or soulful, the oboe has a distinct charm and the bassoon is arresting in its own way, but the clarinet sounds like an awkward teenager that cant' figure out its place in the world for some reason......I guess the orchestra needs an instrument like that though, it strikes me as perhaps the most unpretentious-sounding instrument.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Gaspard de la Nuit said:


> Lately when I've thought of the clarinet, it occurred to me that it might be my least favorite solo instrument. It has such an awkward sound to it....the flute can sound beautiful or soulful, the oboe has a distinct charm and the bassoon is arresting in its own way, but the clarinet sounds like an awkward teenager that cant' figure out its place in the world for some reason......I guess the orchestra needs an instrument like that though, it strikes me as perhaps the most unpretentious-sounding instrument.


You're listening to the wrong clarinetists. 

One thing that is true about the clarinet - it has three registers and blending them smoothly takes real talent.


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Here's the first 40 seconds of my work-in-progress for clarinet & piano. It will end up as a one-movement 9-12 minute duration piece. I've gotten the composition up to the 4'30" mark, but only those first 40 seconds are set in stone. So, I'm not only being cautious in not letting you hear more, but I'm also being a tease.

View attachment sample.mp3


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Artie Shaw Clarinet Concerto


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Vasks said:


> Here's the first 40 seconds of my work-in-progress for clarinet & piano. It will end up as a one-movement 9-12 minute duration piece. I've gotten the composition up to the 4'30" mark, but only those first 40 seconds are set in stone. So, I'm not only being cautious in not letting you hear more, but I'm also being a tease.
> 
> View attachment 93453


Very nice. Looking forward to the next 10 minutes.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Just listened to the four Louis Spohr Clarinet Concertos. They make the Weber Concertos and Concertino sound like beginners' etudes. It's not just all the incredibly difficult staccato runs/double tongue-ing, but the slow movements contain long passages, without room for taking breaths.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Pugg said:


> Artie Shaw Clarinet Concerto


A lot of Gershwin in that opening. And that last note . . .


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Another piece that I don't think has been mentioned - the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Kalevi Aho: Clarinet Concerto. 
Enjoy.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

For more works, people can check the appendix to Jack Brymer's "The Clarinet" (copyright 1979). Over 30 pages worth of listings, generally including the author's brief assessment.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

hpowders said:


> Just listened to the four Louis Spohr Clarinet Concertos. They make the Weber Concertos and Concertino sound like beginners' etudes. It's not just all the incredibly difficult staccato runs/double tongue-ing, but the slow movements contain long passages, without room for taking breaths.


Probably Circular breathing, I first heard this from James Galway many years ago, I never could do it.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Dan Ante said:


> Probably Circular breathing, I first heard this from James Galway many years ago, I never could do it.


I attended a concert in which the amazing former Principal Clarinet of the NY Philharmonic, Stanley Drucker performed the Corigliano Clarinet Concerto-a lot of unending trills in the extreme upper register. I have no idea how he breathed through all of that. An incredible performance!


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

hpowders said:


> I attended a concert in which the amazing former Principal Clarinet of the NY Philharmonic, Stanley Drucker performed the Corigliano Clarinet Concerto-a lot of unending trills in the extreme upper register. I have no idea how he breathed through all of that. An incredible performance!


I'm sure it was quite trilling.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

hpowders said:


> I attended a concert in which the amazing former Principal Clarinet of the NY Philharmonic, Stanley Drucker performed the Corigliano Clarinet Concerto-a lot of unending trills in the extreme upper register. I have no idea how he breathed through all of that. An incredible performance!


Didn't attend that, but I was there for his final appearance with the NYPhil - 61 years with the orchestra. He played the Copland Concerto.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Ross Edwards - Oboe Concerto No. 1 (2/2)


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

hpowders said:


> I attended a concert in which the amazing former Principal Clarinet of the NY Philharmonic, Stanley Drucker performed the Corigliano Clarinet Concerto-a lot of unending trills in the extreme upper register. I have no idea how he breathed through all of that. An incredible performance!


I have this on vinyl a good example 5 minutes of circular breathing.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Dan Ante said:


> I have this on vinyl a good example 5 minutes of circular breathing.


Thanks! Absolutely amazing!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Felix Mendelssohn Concert piece No:2 for Two Clarinet and Orchestra Op.114

For the real connoisseurs .


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