Classical Music | Clarinet Music

Recorded on 12/14/2005, uploaded on 02/05/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Like Mozart before him and Brahms after, Carl Maria von Weber composed several important works for the clarinet that remain staples of the repertoire today. Like the two clarinet concertos of 1811, Weber composed his Grand duo concertant for clarinet and piano for the clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Bärmann, one of the most gifted clarinetists of his day. Weber began work on the piece in 1815. Curiously, he wrote first the rondo finale, then the middle Andante, and lastly, completed the first movement in November of the following year. Both instruments take on near equal roles throughout the work, stressing Weber’s own virtuosity at the piano, and his ample knowledge of the clarinet.

The first movement, in E-flat major, opens with an animated theme, which quickly becomes more agitated as it moves toward G minor. A tranquil second theme in B-flat, however, soon emerges, and leads the movement into its development. Weber masterfully works out the material of the movement throughout the development section, and a recapitulation of the two major themes completes the sonata form movement. The middle Andante movement turns doleful as the key shifts to the relative minor, and a mournful theme presented by the clarinet is accompanied by low-voiced chords in the piano. At the close of the theme, the piano takes center stage from the clarinet by indulging in an extended solo section. The two instruments reunite with the reappearance of the principal melody in the key of C major, but the music inevitably turns back towards the minor concluding the movement beneath ominous dark clouds. The graceful opening rondo tune of the finale, however, dispels the gloom left by the Andante. Marked Allegro, the movement proceeds at an unrushed pace, yet not without the energy necessary from a finale. Shadows briefly return during the second episode as a sustained melody in the clarinet appears atop tremolandi in the piano. However, the rondo tune makes its final return, and the movement concludes with brilliant writing for both instruments.         Joseph DuBose

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Grand Duo concertant for piano and clarinet, Op. 48 (J 204)          Carl Maria von Weber        

The Grand Duo concertant, though scored for chamber resources, has a scope far more suited for the concert hall.  Written in 1815, it is Weber's only clarinet piece not dedicated to clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Baermann.  Almost operatic in its intensity, the Grand Duo's drama and virtuosity are balanced by its Classical formal principles.  Piano and clarinet are absolute equals, their musical partnership apparent from the very opening of the first movement.  The Grand Duo's demanding woodwind writing, proof of Weber's long collaboration with Baermann, and its ambitious musical scope ensure its place in the repertoire today.    Alexander Fiterstein

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.