The Early Clarinet Concertos

Abstract

A LIST of solo works for clagrinet appeared in the Spring 1962 issue of this journal in an article entitled Concertos for Clarinet, by Mr. Burnet C. Tuthill. Although his list was quite extensive, much more so, as he relates, than he had surmised before beginning to gather his materials, Mr. Tuthill recognized that probably many more concertos had been written, and he encouraged readers to contribute to the list. It is in this spirit, therefore, that the present writer brings attention to a number of clarinet solo works, all concertos for one or two clarinets with orchestral accompaniment, which are properly part of the list offered by Mr. Tuthill. The additional items noted here, however, include only works believed to have been composed in the eighteenth century, as nearly as can be determined in view of the difficulty of establishing dates of composition for works by obscure composers and also for works which have not survived. Of the hundred or more names listed here as composers of concertos and double concertos for clarinet, only about one-third are represented by extant works, almost all of which have been identified and discussed elsewhere by the writer.l Approximately two-thirds of the names listed below are those whose clairnet concertos have not survived, or have not become accessible.2 This listing, unlike Mr. Tuthill's, includes only concertos written specifically for clarinet. No arrangements for clarinet of works originally composed for a different solo instrument are included.3 Nor are there kinds of solo works other than solo and double concertos. Omitted from this account are the concertantes for clarinet and one or more different solo instruments with orchestra, potpourris or occasional pieces for clarinet and orchestra, solo compositions for clarinet with keyboard,4 chamber music in which the clarinet has a soloistic role, etc.