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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, K. 581, was written in 1789 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler. A clarinet quintet is a work for one clarinet and a string quartet. Although originally written for basset clarinet, in contemporary performances it is usually played on a clarinet in A. It was Mozart’s only completed clarinet quintet, and is one of the earliest and best-known works written especially for the instrument. It remains to this day one of the most admired of the composer’s works. The quintet is sometimes referred to as the Stadler Quintet; Mozart so described it in a letter of April 1790.
The overall layout resembles a serenade and is in fact more or less the same as that of Mozart’s string trio, K. 563, in the same key, but Beethoven expands the form by the addition of substantial introductions to the first and last movements and by changing the second minuet to a scherzo. The main theme of the third movement had already been used in Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 20 (Op. 49 No. 2), which was an earlier work despite its higher opus number. The finale features a violin cadenza.
The scoring of the Septet for a single clarinet, horn and bassoon (rather than for pairs of these wind instruments) was innovative. So was the unusually prominent role of the clarinet, as important as the violin.
The Septet was one of Beethoven’s most successful and popular works and circulated in many editions and arrangements for different forces. In about 1803, Beethoven himself arranged the work as a trio for clarinet (or violin), cello, and piano, and this version was published as his Op. 38 in 1805 in Vienna. Beethoven dedicated the Trio Op. 38 to Professor Johann Adam Schmidt (1759–1809), a German-Austrian surgeon and ophthalmologist, and a personal physician of Beethoven, whom he attended to from 1801 until 1809.
New York Musicians Performing Classical Music Festival in Washington starting August 18
The Classical Music Festival of Washington Friends of Music is taking place Fridays at 5:30pm on August 18, 25; Sep 1 and 8 in the Historic Meeting House of the First Congregational Church at the Washington Green, 6 Kirby Road.
Washington Friends of Music has been bringing superb performances and major talent from New York to Washington for over 10 years. This summer’s Classical Music Festival is starting off on Friday August 18 with Mozart and Beethoven. Under the leadership of WFM Artistic Director and world-class cellist Wendy Sutter, a group of eight renowned musicians who perform solo as well as in leading orchestras in the US and abroad, will play some of these composers most admired and successful works: Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet K. 581 and Beethoven’s Septet in E flat major, op. 20.
Critically acclaimed cellist Wendy Sutter, heralded as “one of the great leading cellists of the classical stage” by the Wall Street Journal will be joined on strings by violinist Xiao-Dong Wang of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, violinist Deborah Buck, concertmaster of Orchestra Lumos and violist William Hakim, member of the New York Symphonic Ensemble.
Wind instrument enthusiasts will be pleased to experience the debut of three-times Grammy nominee Todd Palmer, Clarinet, of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Mark Romatz, Bassoon, of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Rachel Drehmann, versatile French Horn player of the “infamous” horn quartet Genghis Barbie.
The audience is invited to mingle with the musicians at a post-concert reception with bubbly and snacks.
The WFM Classical Music Festival will continue featuring groups of up to twelve renowned musicians, soloists as well as from noted orchestras on Aug. 25th, themed “Vive la France,” followed by “Musica de Espana” on Sep 1st and conclude with “Eight Seasons: Vivaldi and Piazzolla – Juxtaposed” on September 8.
Washington Friends of Music, a non-profit organization, is grateful for the generous support of the Town of Washington, the State of Connecticut, CT Humanities – an affiliate of the State of Connecticut National Endowment for the Humanities, the Northwest CT Community Foundation, and WMNR Fine Arts Radio.
Tickets can be purchased online and are also available at the Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington and County Wine & Spirits in New Preston, as well as at the door (cash or check only). Details on the WFM website WashingtonCT4music.blogspot.
WFM successfully participated in the 2023 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants offering.
CT Humanities provides general operating support grants to help the state’s museums, cultural, humanities, and arts organizations as they recover from the pandemic. This funding helps recipients maintain and grow their ability to serve their community and the public, connect K-12 teachers and students to strong humanities and arts content, and improve their information technology and digital infrastructure.
These grants were administered by CT Humanities (CTH), with funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the CT General Assembly and approved by Governor Ned Lamont.
The Board of WFM and its 1,000 music lovers say
THANK YOU to CT Humanities and CT Office of the Arts!
Send a check to WFM, PO Box 1226, Washington, CT 06793.
Supporter $50, Friend $100, Donor $250
Sponsor $500, Patron $1,000, Underwriter $5,000
WFM is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
THANK YOU
