Stamitz, C.: Clarinet Concertos, Vol. 2

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Cat No: 8554339

Release Date: 12 January 1999

Label: Naxos - Nxc / Naxos Classics

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 636943433928

Genres: Classical

Composer/Series: STAMITZ, C.

Description
Carl Stamitz(1745-1801) Clarinet ConcertosVol. 2Among the best-known orchestral works of Carl Philip Stamitz (1745-1801)are the clarinet concertos which rank not only among the earliest concertos forthe instrument but also among the finest of any concertos by Mozart'scontemporaries. Comparatively little is known about the origin of these worksin spite of their obvious historical and musical importance. The latestresearch has narrowed the composition date of the eight authentic works toaround the years 1771-1776 when Stamitz was living in Paris.Stamitz would have been well acquainted with the clarinet prior to hismove to Paris in 1770 as the Mannheim court orchestra, of which he had been amember for several years, was among the first to include clarinets among itsforces. During the 1760s the instrument underwent a number of importantmodifications which improved its tonal flexibility and intonation. From thispoint on composers began to show a greater level of interest in writing for theinstrument but it was the popularity of Carl Stamitz's concertos, coupled withthe emergence of virtuoso exponents of the 'new' instrument, which seems tohave turned the tide. During the period 1760-1771 not one single clarinetconcerto was advertised for sale in the Breitkopf Catalogue, the largest andmost important 18th century catalogue of printed and manuscript music. Thefirst, a work by Starck, appeared in Supplement VII (1771) but then no furtherworks appeared for nine years until three of Stamitz's concertos were listed inSupplement XIV (1781). Between 1782 and 1784, however, seven concertos appearedin Supplement XV alone comprising works by various composers were advertisedthe following year.Stamitz's early experience of the clarinet was consolidated furtherthrough his friendship with the great Bohemian clarinet virtuoso Johann JosephBeer (1744-1811) whom he met in Paris. Their professional association, similarin many ways to that of Mozart and Stadler, resulted not only in a number ofjoint performances at the Concerts spirituels but also in a successionof concertos and chamber works which were composed for Beer's use Beer'sperformance of one of Carl Stamitz's clarinet concertos on 24th December, 1771is the first documented performance of a clarinet concerto in Paris. WhileBeer's unrivalled technical command of the five?¡-keyed clarinet undoubtedlyinfluenced the way in which Stamitz wrote for it, certain idiomatic devicessuch as exaggerated intervallic leaps and broken-chord passage work can befound in the works of pioneering figures such as Pokorny. Their overall musicalquality, however, owes far less to the virtuosity of the solo writing than toStamitz's elegant melodic style, structural subtlety and orchestral flair.In 1938 Helmut Boese made a score of Concerto No. 7 in E flatmajor (in some numbering systems No. 8) based on a set of manuscript parts -the sole-surviving copy of the work - preserved in the Landesbibliothek inDarmstadt. This material was destro
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