Clarinet Concerto No. 1 (Weber)

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The Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73, was written by Carl Maria von Weber for the clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Joseph Baermann . It was premiered by Baermann in Munich on June 13, 1811 and is one of the most popular clarinet concerts today.

History of origin

In 1811 Weber met the clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Joseph Baermann in Munich. Enthusiastic about his clarinet playing, he wrote him the Concertino in E flat major, Op. 26 (J. 109), which was so well received by the audience that the King of Bavaria commissioned him for two further clarinet concerts, a bassoon concerto and a cello concerto. Shortly afterwards Weber completed his Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73 (J. 114), the Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 74 (J. 118) and the Bassoon Concerto in F major, Op. 75 (J 127 ). However, Weber never wrote the commissioned cello concerto. The concert was first printed in 1822 by the Schlesinger publishing house in Berlin .

Instrumentation and sentence names

instrumentation

Solo clarinet in Bb, 2 flutes , 2 oboes , 2 bassoons , 3 horns in F and E-flat, 2 trumpets in F, timpani in F and C, strings

Sentence names

  1. Movement: Allegro (F minor)
  2. Movement: Adagio ma non troppo (C major)
  3. Movement: Rondo - Allegretto (F major)

To the music

1 sentence

The first movement is a 3/4 time in the basic key of the Concerto in F minor. Formally, it is a sonata form , with Weber changing the classical form again and again.

The movement begins with an introduction by the orchestra , with the first theme being introduced by the cellos and double basses in pianissimo. After a chord of the whole orchestra in fortissimo, motifs of the theme are played by the whole orchestra, Weber in particular using the dotted rhythm of the theme head. After a repetition of the entire first theme in pianissimo and two general pauses, the solo clarinet begins with a new theme, which, like the first theme, is in F minor. After a short interlude by the entire orchestra, the clarinet begins with the secondary theme in the major parallel in B major. The exposition ends with a triplet run in the clarinet, about which Baermann wrote a variation in 16th notes, which is now played in most performances directly after the triplet run as the so-called Baermann cadenza.

The development begins with an orchestral interlude in which mainly motifs from the first theme are used. It ends with descending triad breaks in the cellos, whereupon the clarinet begins in pianissimo with a theme in the Chalumeau register. A chromatic is followed by the major theme, which in turn ends in a triplet run. This turns into a sixteenth-note run of the solo clarinet, over which the woodwinds alternately play the headline of the first theme.

The transition to the recapitulation cannot be precisely defined because the development flows smoothly into the recapitulation. First, a transitional theme from the exposition is heard before the opening theme of the clarinet appears again, which, however, changes directly into a loud orchestral tutti with the opening theme of the orchestra. This is followed by virtuoso runs of the solo clarinet, which end with a chain of trills, after which the opening theme sounds one last time in the entire orchestra, before the movement fades away with only strings, the solo clarinet and a drum roll in pianissimo.

2nd movement

The second movement is a 4/4 time signature in the key of the major tonic of C major. Formally it is a three-part song form.

The movement begins with a calm, vocal theme in the solo clarinet, accompanied by the strings, which is repeated three times. The topic is varied with each repetition and the accompaniment becomes more complex. The bassoons are added in the first repetition and the oboes in the second. This is followed by the second much more dramatic theme, which is in C minor. It is played by the strings and the woodwind, for which the solo clarinet plays triad breaks. This is followed by a section in which only the solo clarinet, accompanied by three horns, plays a chorale-like theme. There is a similar section in the Adagio von Weber's Bassoon Concerto, in which only the solo bassoon plays accompanied by two horns. What is noticeable in the clarinet concerto is that the third horn is only occupied in the second movement. The section ends with a long held note in the solo clarinet and the first theme follows again, accompanied by the strings. This in turn merges into the chorale-like theme of clarinet and horns, with which the movement ends.

3rd movement

The third movement is a 2/4 time in F major. Formally, I am dealing with a rondo, as the sentence name already shows.

The movement begins with the fast and, thanks to the unusual rhythm, entertaining rondo theme in the solo clarinet, accompanied by the strings. This is followed by the first couplet, which is characterized by an alternation between orchestral tuttis and solo passages. The rondo theme then appears first in the dominant before it reappears in its original form in the tonic. The second couplet begins with a relatively long orchestral interlude, before the solo clarinet begins with a cadenza-like solo run that ends in a tuttia chord. This is followed by a theme for the solo clarinet in the minor parallel in D minor, followed by a theme in the woodwinds, which leads back to the rondo theme in the solo clarinet. After the rondo theme there is another couplet, which is again in the basic key of F major. The rondo theme that follows has a distinctly more forward-looking character through tone repetitions in the trumpets and timpani, which is also reinforced by the trill chain of the solo clarinet at the end of the theme. The ensuing interlude of the orchestra thematically takes up the rondo theme and introduces the virtuoso 16th note runs of the solo clarinet in the Stretta. The concert ends with a sustained fortissimo chord by the whole orchestra.

literature

  • John Warrack: Carl Maria von Weber. VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1986, ISBN 3-370-00163-2 , p. 153 ff
  • Concerto F minor for Clarinet and Orchestra by Carl Maria von Weber op.73. Ernst Eulenburg Ltd London, with a preface by Max Alberti

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