The Clarinet in the Classical Period
Albert Rice
Abstract
Beginning in 1760, the clarinet was transformed from a rarely seen baroque instrument into an essential piece of the classical ensemble. Barely half a century later, in 1812, Iwan Müller developed the thirteen key clarinet that brought the instrument into the Romantic age. Here, the achievements are reviewed of the most important clarinet makers, including James Wood, Teobaldo Monzani, and Jean-François Simiot, as well as the innovations of the performers Müller and César Janssen. Music that requires clarinets of different pitch designated by clef notation is reviewed in works by Italian, Fren ... More
Beginning in 1760, the clarinet was transformed from a rarely seen baroque instrument into an essential piece of the classical ensemble. Barely half a century later, in 1812, Iwan Müller developed the thirteen key clarinet that brought the instrument into the Romantic age. Here, the achievements are reviewed of the most important clarinet makers, including James Wood, Teobaldo Monzani, and Jean-François Simiot, as well as the innovations of the performers Müller and César Janssen. Music that requires clarinets of different pitch designated by clef notation is reviewed in works by Italian, French, and German composers. A wide range of instruments and music is explored, including the creative relationships of two trios of composer, maker, and performer—Carl Maria von Weber, Jean-Jacques Baumann, and Heinrich Baermann; and Mozart, Theodor Lotz, and Anton Stadler—demonstrating how clarinet construction and performance practice developed in tandem with musical styles.
Keywords:
concertos,
fingerings,
keys,
mouthpiece,
mouthpiece position,
military bands,
pads,
notation,
orchestras,
sonatas
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2007 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780195342994 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2010 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195342994.001.0001 |
