Mozart Clarinet Concerto Essay

Mozart’s clarinet concerto is simply one of a kind partly since Mozart only wrote one concerto for the clarinet. Unfortunately for clarinet players Mozart discovered clarinet late in life and didn’t compose the clarinet concerto until right before his death(Davies). Mozart was a genius, having spent much of his childhood composing and performing for royalty and incredibly high-ranking people (Kennedy 494-495). Growing up in this manner he didn’t have a traditional childhood and thus his personality had progressed at a rate which was considerably behind his musical intellect, now this isn’t a terrible detail in his compositions as it is attributed to his fascination and playfulness displayed within the clarinet music he wrote for it (Davies
Children convey countless different ranges of emotions and feelings effortless in a single day that it is quite something to observe. Additionally, studies done by musicologist have produced theories that the clarinet concerto was probably meant to be played on a basset clarinet, which can play much lower than the A clarinet which the concerto is generally played using (Etheridge 21). This informs the clarinet player that several of these awkward technical passages that thoroughly challenge the player’s technical facility of the instrument would not have been as challenging and natural if played on a lower basset clarinet (Etheridge 21). Anton Stadler, who was a clarinet player that was infamous for playing the second clarinet part despite being such a virtuosic player, was infatuated with the chalumeau register (low register) of the clarinet which is why countless people believe Mozart intended for the clarinet part to be played lower. Mozart was notorious for writing concerti for specific people as he did with flute, oboe, and bassoon