So what is everyone's favourite clarinet concerto then? You can probably guess mine.

MOZART!!!!

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ May 20 2005, 07:56 PM)

MOZART!!!!

Couldn't have put it better myself!

Ditto... although I'm not sure I even know any others!

Is there actually any contest?! mozart should win easily!

At this early stage we can see Mozart has leapt into a seemingly unassalible lead.

Who voted Copland? Maybe I should have said "other than Mozart"!

Arnold 2nd!!!! (esp. the Pre-Goodman Rag !)

what about the Finzi?

Mozart, not going to be playing it for a while but can't wait to! It's really good.

Mozart's good but I quite like one of the Weber ones. (Can't remember which one though)

I find it hard to choose between Weber #1 in F minor and the Mozart. Further complicating the issue is the variety of performances I have heard.
For example, I don't like first movement of the Weber TOO fast because the detail is so wonderful.

In some ways my heart is with Weber, because of the whole range of music he provided for the clarinettist. I do not play this instrument, and I don't know why Weber was so much at home with it. I would welcome any explanation on this ...

MOZART! MOZART! MOZART!

George, I think Weber was good friends with a clarinet student called Baermann (fist name?). So rather like Mozart's clarinet music was inspired by his friend Stadler, Weber wrote for Baermann.

And for the record, Copland was written for Benny Goodman.

Mozart of course! But Weber 1 is seriously cool, as is the Copland, Finzi, Nielsen, Arnold 2... Weber 2 is alot of fun, but the last movement is fiendish, and the last couple of pages nearly impossible!

I would say there's no such thing as a BAD clarinet concerto, but then I remembered the Benedict Mason, premiered at the Proms a few years ago, and I don't think heard since. It confirms one of the rules by which I live life: Never trust a clarinet concerto which has the tuba player playing from the gents'. (yes, really!).

neil.clarinet - yes, Weber was friends with Baermann. If we're on the subject of clarinettists having influential composer friends, don't forget Richard Muhlfield, who had the Brahms sonatas and quintet written for him.

QUOTE (Deborah @ May 22 2005, 03:09 PM)

It confirms one of the rules by which I live life: Never trust a clarinet concerto which has the tuba player playing from the gents'. (yes, really!).

that's a wee bit scary...

and also that is a very unusual life rule, but I can see it coming in handy... lol...

I didn't know that Weber was friends with Baermann, I like a lot of Baermann's work.

So, was that quite a common occurence, composers writing for friends?

QUOTE (purple dolphin @ May 21 2005, 10:06 AM)

MOZART! MOZART! MOZART!

Was the original question a "no-brainer" from the outset?

Here we have Mozart, in a list without anyone of the stature of Beethoven to give him a run for his money!

Additionally, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto has turned out to be one of his most highly rated compositions. A further opinion I read was that it was the greatest composition ever written for a woodwind instrument. So can ANYONE tell me anything about the Mozart that would compare unfavourably with any other Clarinet concerto??

I will be honest enough to admit that I am not capable of assessing all of the compositions in the list, having not heard them all (although the public library will see to it that this position changes greatly in the next few weeks!)

I've listened to Weber in F minor a few times again over the last few days.
I find Movements 1 and 3 the most attractive, with particularly strong themes and some fantastic virtuosity. Is it just me, but I would say that the slow movement does not move me to tears - should it?

QUOTE (George Burrell @ May 23 2005, 12:15 AM)

I will be honest enough to admit that I am not capable of assessing all of the compositions in the list, having not heard them all

Well said George so who are you to say there is no competition?!!!

Certainly Copland and Nielsen are comparable in their respective genres. They are very different, but this is why I always make a point that no piece is "better" than any other at any period. Mozart was prbably the best one from that time, but it depends on taste. So whoever voted Copland must prefer the very different nature of that concerto.

I hope that helps put things into perspective.

Copland rocks! I voted for copland.
Mozart sucks! i hate that piece

QUOTE (Bb Clarinet @ May 23 2005, 09:33 AM)

Copland rocks! I voted for copland. Mozart sucks! i hate that piece

See what I mean George. Not EVERYONE agrees. By the way, if you want to be moved to tears, I think the beginning of the Copland has a similar effect as the Adagio of the Mozart.

edited

just goes to show that differences of opinion can be, um, strong!

QUOTE (neil.clarinet @ May 23 2005, 08:13 AM)

QUOTE (George Burrell @ May 23 2005, 12:15 AM) I will be honest enough to admit that I am not capable of assessing all of the compositions in the list, having not heard them all Well said George so who are you to say there is no competition?!!! I hope that helps put things into perspective.

I say there is no competition because Mozart currently has 80 per cent of the vote. Even with the small sample size we have here, that's a huge majority. (Any poliitical party that could get that kind of support in a general election would be a virtual dictatorship!!)

I suggested the reasons are straight forward:

(a) Mozart was the greatest composer of the classical period, and would be favourite composer of many people.

( His clarinet concerto is regarded as one of his finest works.

© This work is performed and broadcast enough that everyone would know it.

I don't believe I would be alone in saying I do not know all of the works that are being compared. And I would bet that subscribers would know certain works a lot better than others.

Just out of interest - I thought Benny Goodman was a performer of big band or jazz or light music or something. More of an improvisatory man. Was he in fact a classical performer as well?

QUOTE (George Burrell @ May 23 2005, 11:40 AM)

Just out of interest - I thought Benny Goodman was a performer of big band or jazz or light music or something. More of an improvisatory man. Was he in fact a classical performer as well?

He was indeedy!

If you look at my signature it would seem inappropriate to dispute your point of view that Mozart is one of the best of all time. My point was, as sarah correctly said, that opinions differ greatly.

Secondly, the original question was "favourite" concerto, not "the best"!!! So it was not "brainless" at all.

Benny Goodman was one of the most versatile musicians of the 20th Century. Copland, Hindemith and Arnold all wrote concertos for him and Bernstein, Stravinksy and Bartók dedicated pieces to him. He recorded Mozart's two greatest works for clarinet, the Concerto and the Quintet.

In addition he was the first jazz musician to perform in the southern states of the USA with a band that included both black and white musicians, an incredibly brave thing to do in the 1930s when racism and racial violence were at their evil height. A hero in every sense of the word.

Even today, composers write commissions for particular performers. Otherwise they might churn out loads of music that would not get even one peformance.

In the case of clarinet, my understanding is that the performer would also assist the composer to enhance their writing by drawing attention to the strengths and limitations of the instrument. Composers not generally being able to play every orchestral instrument.

I think both in weber (1&2) and mozart clarinet concerto any one needs a grade technique to play, but Mozart is better.

you might not like it ,but you can't say its c rap.

okay. sorry *hides in the naughty corner*

Lol. I understand you don't like it etc and everyone is entitled to their opinion...fair enough....but considering how popular it is, it cannot be called stuff like that!

Well Neil I have borrowed the Copland from the library and listened to it multiple times. Being impressed with Copland as a composer, I was keen to see what he had added to the clarinet repertoire.

The opening is indeed impressive (although it does go on a long time to say what it does) My overwhelming conclusion though is that this is actually a wonderful ORCHESTRAL work, that just happens to feature more clarinet than piano, and more clarinet than anything else.

For a favourite CLARINET CONCERTO, I would look for one that really showcased the clarinet in contrast to the orchestra being the second participant involved. I feel the Copland is more a series of very classy jazz solos. I don't dislike Copland's composition which after is in the neoclassical vein, light years away from Mozart and Weber.

My vote stays with Weber I , good to see I have a colleague voting for Weber II.
Is there any composer who did more for the clarinet than Weber?

By George you're in an argumentitive mood Mr Burrel.

This is a forum!

I just don't think I am ready to take Copland's concerto to my desert island just yet.