Today in Music (1789): Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A major (Stadler) premiered

Clarinet Quintet in A major (Stadler) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (composer)

Composition completed: September 29, 1789 First Performed: December 22, 1789 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classical > chamber music

Parts/Movements: I. Allegro II. Larghetto III. Menuetto with Trio I in A minor and Trio II in A major IV. Allegretto con varizioni, A major (Variation III in A minor) Average Duration: 35 minutes

Rating: 4.740 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Work: “Mozart wrote a number of chamber works for strings and a wind instrument, including the flute, oboe, horn and clarinet. In each case, he managed to showcase the idiomatic character of the featured guest while setting it naturally within a chamber context for a balanced, blended ensemble.” ES He was “often inspired to write for a particular musician.” ES In 1786, he also wrote the – a trio for clarinet, viola, and piano – for Anton Stadler, a talented clarinetist and friend. WK He also wrote his clarinet quintet for Stadler. In an April 1790 letter, Mozart himself referred to the work as the Stadler Quintet. WK Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto was also written for Stadler and shares similarities with the quintet. WK A clarinet quintet is intended for one clarinet with a string quartet. This was originally written with a basset clarinet in mind, but in contemporary performances it is generally played on a clarinet in A. WK It is the only clarinet quintet completed by Mozart. He “crafts a masterfully integrated chamber work for equal partners where the clarinet blends and the individual strings occasionally sing alone from center stage.” ES He “conjures solo arias, duets, dances and choruses from an ample cast of five.” ES The work is viewed as “one of the earliest and best-known works that was written especially for the instrument” WK and “one of the most admired of the composer’s works.” WK “In a single work, Mozart combines his gifts for three genres in which he was supreme: opera, the concerto, and the string quartet.” ES Musicologist Alfred Einstein called the piece “chamber music work of the finest kind.” WK

Reviews: ES EarSense.org by Kai Christiansen and Music at Kohl Mansion WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 2/22/2026.

Today in Music (1791): Mozart's Clarinet Concerto premiered

Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Composed: 1789-1791 First Performed: October 16, 1791 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classical > concerto

Parts/Movements: Allegro (in A major and in sonata form) Adagio (in D major and in ternary form) Rondo: Allegro (in A major and in rondo form) Average Duration: 28:34

Rating: 4.712 out of 5.00 (average of 5 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto was written for clarinetist Anton Stadler. Work started in 1789 and the piece was completed in October 1791, less than two months before his death. AM It was “his final purely instrumental work.” WK The work was initially intended for basset horn, AM “as Anton Stadler was also a virtuoso basset horn player,” WK but was revised for clarinet. AM “Until the mid 20th century musicologists did not know that the only version of the concerto written by Mozart’s hand had not been heard since Stadler’s lifetime…Attempts were made to reconstruct the original version, and new basset clarinets have been built for the specific purpose of performing Mozart's concerto and clarinet quintet. There can no longer be any doubt that the concerto was composed for a clarinet with an extended range.” WK Thus “the version widely known today differs from the work Mozart produced for Stadler, since the original version was written for an instrument with an extended bass compass that allowed Stadler to demonstrate his famed ability to play low notes.” AM The concerto was premiered by Stadler On October 16, 1791, “at his benefit concert in the Prague Theatre” AM to a generally positive reception. WK “The Berlin Musikalisches Wochenblatt noted in January 1792, ‘Herr Stadeler, a clarinettist from Vienna. A man of great talent and recognised as such at court... His playing is brilliant and bears witness to his assurance.’” WK It “is notable for its delicate interplay between soloist and orchestra, and for the lack of overly extroverted display on the part of the soloist (no cadenzas are written out in the solo part).” WK “Cast in the usual three movements, the gentle, nostalgic lyricism of much of the Clarinet Concerto has drawn such epithets as ‘valedictory’ and ‘autumnal,’ an assessment that downplays the extraordinary vigor and verve of this inspired work.” AM

Resources and Related Links: AM AllMusic.com review by Brian Robins WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: Last updated 2/23/2026.