 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bb
Date: 2002-06-12 15:17
How come Mozart wrote the clarinet concerto foe the A clarinet and not the Bb???? Is is because he liked the A's sound more?? Or was is because the Bb wasn't available?
Thanks
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Author: Dee
Date: 2002-06-12 16:13
In Mozart's time there probably was not a strong preference for either one. However the A clarinet tends to be easier to play in an orchestral settings as the string instrument players prefer to play in keys with sharps rather than keys with flats. Using a Bb clarinet would put in the clarinet in way too many sharps. Given the limited number of keys on the clarinet at the time, composers typically selected the clarinet that would minimize the number of sharps or flats that the instrument would be required to use given the concert key of the composition.
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Author: William
Date: 2002-06-12 20:57
Mozart wrote the Concerto for the bassett clarinet which is pitched in A. As the bassett has a range down to low C, our modern arrangements must be slightly edited for the A clarinet with it's low E range. In the Bb clarinet arrangements, the piano accompaniment is transposed to Bb to keep things simple for the clarinetist. Hope this helps clear things up.
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Author: Stéphane
Date: 2002-06-13 07:46
It is unfortunately not that simple as there is no autograph of the Mozart K622. The only document available is a part of a concerto K621b for basset horn pitched in G, the end of which suggests that the solo part was written indeed for basset clarinet in A descending to low C, from what the K622 that we know was derived, and is now typically played on A clarinets.
There is an interesting version by Sabine Meyer on the basset clarinet.
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Author: David
Date: 2002-06-13 10:34
Maybe, like me, he was scared of that many sharps.
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2002-06-13 19:24
Aside from the historical explanations, play the first few measures on B flat and then on A. The timbre of the A clarinet is more appropriate to this piece; it sounds nicer.
Besides, when you're playing it on the A your pianist (or orchestra) won't hate you.
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Author: DLE
Date: 2002-06-15 15:00
Answer: He didn't at first. The surviving autograph mentioned above was originally for bassett horn in G, and later transcibed to 'A' bassett clarinet for Anton Stadler to play. Unfortunately our dear friend Anton lost his brain, as well as all the original autographs, save 1. (Either that or he was stupid enough to sell them...) To take a musicological guess at it all, Mozart probably thought long and hard (About 30 seconds by his standards), and then decided to write it for A clarinet as it sounded more balanced, and also for practical reasons. (How many bassett horns in G were about in 1791, and even worse, who would play them?)
Alternatively he could have considered the success of his major preceeding work for clarinet (The quintet in A), and realised that 'It worked before, so it can work again'. (yeah, right)
For more reading on this topic, there is a whole analysis of musicological history on the piece in a cambridge handbook (Can't remember the author). Basically, it describes in one of its chapters the tendancies in different countries for the composition of pieces for (new) clarinets at the time. Different keys were in use in different countries it would seem, except where Mozart was concerned... It considers all of the options before quietly resting in a place known as 'Brainlock Central'. Basically, there is so much stuff on this that doesn't make sense, one is best to forget it and just play the da**ed piece! (Unless like me, you happen to be interested in Musicology, and have a bigger brain capacity, as well as a massive ego as it turns out)
Happy clarineting!
DLE.
P.S. If there is anything inaccurate on this page please tell me - not that anyone would know if it REALLY was or not. None of us can be 230 years old!
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