Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Clarinet Concerto free essay sample

Mozart was born 1756 and died in 1791, In his lifetime he created a phenomenal amount of Impressive works Including operas, sonatas, symphonies, concertos and chamber works. Mozart father Johann, also a musician, realized his son was particularly gifted in music at the very early age of 3, when he started playing keyboard. At the age of 5 Mozart was composing and performing his works all over the Europe. At the age of six Mozart performed for the Bavarian elector and the Austrian empress.His father felt that it could be very profitable to expose his hillsides musical genius (Mozart sister Maria Anna was a gifted keyboard player). In 1763 he took his children on a tour to Paris and London as well as several courts while on the Journey. Mozart astounded audiences with his tremendous technical and musical ability. On this tour he played for the French and English royal families, had his first compositions published and also wrote his earliest symphonies. We will write a custom essay sample on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Concerto or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This tour ended in 1766, yet nine months later they left home again, this time to Vienna, where Leopold hoped to have Mozart opera performed. In 1773, Mozart visited Vienna, It was here that he wrote a set of string quartets and when he returned home, he wrote a group of symphonies. From 1774 through to 1777, Mozart worked as Concert Master at the Prince Archbishops court, during these years he wrote masses, symphonies, all of his violin concertos, six piano sonatas several serenades and divertimento and his first great piano concerto. From 1777 till 1780 he enjoyed little success, working in minor roles, however, still composing sacred works, symphonies, concertos, serenades and dramatic music.Opera remained his ultimate ambition and he finally was commissioned to write a serious opera for Munich. This first opera Demimonde was a success. In Mozart operas he portrayed serious, heroic emotion with a richness that had not been heard in his other works. While his operas were his passion, and piano concertos were an important part of his career as both a performer and a composer, his concertos for wind instruments were always written for, or inspired by a particular performer of that instrument. Wisped In the Autumn of 1791, Mozart was commissioned by his good friend Anton Stalled to rite a concerto for him to play at an upcoming performance In Prague on October 1 6th 1791. Mozart had started writing a concerto for basset horn In 1989 this was reworked to become the Clarinet concerto. Stalled had recently invented an instrument that combined the agility of the early clarinet with the depth of the basset horn, and this Basset Clarinet was the instrument for which Mozart wrote his concerto.It allowed him to write brilliant display passages and lyrical melodies in its clarion (upper) register and to explore the rich expressive sound of Its calumets lower) register with equal ease, and the music exploits the contrast between the two. Mozart had written several works for Stalled, including a clarinet quintet, a quintet for piano and winds (oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon) and a trio for clarinet, viola and piano. The Clarinet Concerto was premiered in Prague, on October 16th 17 91.Staplers performance left an extremely positive impression on the audience. The Berlin Miscalculates Womanliest wrote In January on 1792; Herr Stalled, a clarinetist from Vienna. A man of great talent and recognized as such at court Halls dieback was from critics who faulted Mozart for writing for this particular extended instrument. *wisped Mozart clarinet concerto has been described by many over the years as being autumnal mostly due to the lyrical Adagio movement, which is, out of the three movements, the most recognizable tune.Although the entire concerto is simple in form, the Adagio movement introduces a range of new textures, inspired by the solo instrument and its capabilities. The orchestral background has a solemn tone which is similar to the second movement of his Clarinet Quintet, also written for Stalled. Nile Mozart predictably makes the most of the clarion register, his use of operatic melody combined with chamber texture adds a more operatic brilliance which gives this concerto a special aura and sets it apart from other composers works such as Carl Stamina.The Adagio movement from this work, has a widely recognizable tune and has been used in movies such as American Gild, Out of Africa and Amadeus (a movie based on the life of Mozart). *wisped ere melodic line of the Adagio movement, is generally diatonic, and uses a wide angel of intervals, containing chromatic scales as well as the use of an interval leap of over two octaves for e. G in the recapitulation, the melody line leaps from a very low note to a considerably high note, two and half octaves higher.The middle section, displays the most variety in rhythm, melody, range, and harmonistic in t he accompaniment. To study the Adagio movement of Mozart Clarinet concerto, we can analyses each section, that is, the primary theme, solo section, recapitulation and finally, the coda. Bar 1-32 Bar 33-58 59 Bar 60-93 Bar 94-98 A Section 3 Section Cadenza Coda ere main theme which runs for the first 32 bars, includes 2 eight bar strains, both of these are then repeated by the orchestra.These eight bar strains contain a pair of two bar phrases, followed by a four bar continuation. This alteration between solo and orchestra can also be found in Mozart piano concertos. This main theme is incredibly powerful and expressive, despite it being constructed within a limited range of pitch and with a fairly simple melodic idea. The fact that he uses the orchestra to echo the primary melody in a dynamic of forte, accentuates the strength ND expressive power of this line.In this section we can hear the role of the lower strings change, playing sustained notes to start and then developing into a more Nee studied closely has some differences which set the two apart and create a forward motion and development of the piece. The second strain continues with the straightforward melo dic line, however the harmony underneath this changes. In bars 19 and 21 Mozart chooses to briefly use E minor and F# minor, respectively, which makes the accompaniment richer in this second strain than it is in the first. In the echo from the orchestra in the second strain, the bass line follows a more chromatic path than before. Green In the middle section of this movement (the B section), we hear the soloist exploit the extent of his skills, this section is entirely a solo section containing many different rhythms and particularly showing off the calumets (lower) register with its deep rich timbre. The writing in this solo section is characterized by the use of a variety of rhythms, chromatic detail and the presence of substantial interval leaps. In this section, any passages that are exploiting the lower register, are usually closely followed by phrases in the upper registers.Mozart wrote this piece with Stalled in mind, as he did with most of his concertos as well as other works, such as his operas. He often developed a character w ith a particular artist in mind to play the part. In this section we can hear that Mozart understands the instrument he was writing for, and its capabilities. Mozart employs the use of intervals of twelfth quite frequently in this section, which is achieved quite easily on the clarinet, however, if he had been riding for a different instrument he may not have been able to write such an interval and have it executed accurately.In this solo section we hear a two octave downward arpeggio followed by a substantial leap to a higher interval, followed by some chromatic ornamentation at the subsequent cadence. It is interesting to note the dissonance used by Mozart to increase interest and character, this happens repeatedly every two bars from bar 38 to 44. In the original basset clarinet version, a phenomenal 3 octave arpeggio is written. The basset clarinet having an extra 4 notes t the bottom end of its range would have given it extra warmth and more range for exploiting Staplers skills.At the end of this section we hear several sustai ned notes from the orchestra followed by short passages where the clarinet is displayed by itself. *brown *green ere recapitulation brings back the floating simplistic melody of section A. Firstly reaffirming the original two solo strains from the beginning, however, this time the orchestra does not echo the first strain. Then in the second strain, the orchestral response is present, yet it undertakes a re-harmonistic, characterized mainly by he falling bass line, as opposed to the continuously ascending bass line of the original strain.Apart from staying with the form of a concerto, reaffirming this melody reminds the audience of the first section of this work and reinforces any emotions that were linked with this original melody. This time, the melody being slightly different from the first A section, allows the audience to experience a new sensation as well as develop a renewed love and appreciation for this melody. Following the recapitulation we hear a coda section, which brings in the first nacreous of this movement, at the same time, bringing together the elements of both the principal and middle solo sections.The coda brings back the flowing, gentle Nee hear in the B section. Through much of this coda section, the orchestral winds have been omitted, with only strings as accompaniment, yet they return at the end adding a final touch of color to the final two bars. It is interesting to note that in the original basset clarinet concerto, the final note was written as a minim, as opposed to the crotchet written in the other parts, it is unknown whether this is a subtle magical effect written purposefully by Mozart or simply a publishers misprint. Green In conclusion, this piece was chosen for its ability to portray a combination of emotions, it is light, Joyful, and elegant. This concerto, while it is perfectly simplistic, contains creative musical ideas and an inspiring diversity of rhythmic and melodic patterns. The warm, expressive tone of the clarinet and the somber simplicity of the orchestra makes this a wonderful piece to listen to. In listening to this piece it becomes evident, the admiration and passion Mozart had for this instrument.It monstrance t hat he truly understood the clarinet and how to exhibit its true potential. In this concerto, we find some of the most beautiful passages ever written for clarinet. It can be heard in Mozart music that he often wrote with his audience in mind, the aim for him being to attract an emotional response from them. The clarinet concerto was Mozart final orchestral work, as he only wrote his Requiem after this, Inch he died during the process of writing. The clarinet concerto is a fantastic example of Mozart brilliant and beautiful writing.Mozart had already written expansively for the clarinet and basset horn, prior to writing this concerto. In all his concertos he displays a significant understanding of the capabilities of the instrument for which he is writing for. This concerto uses the complete range of the original instrument, that is, from low C to high G. The difference of tone in the clarinets various registers is beautifully used to vary mood and affect. The clarinets ability to play through very large intervals is stylishly established continuously throughout this piece and helps to create excitement and originality.