Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, Op. 108, K. 581 & Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, K. 498 "Kegelstatt"

Featuring

Owen Watkins
Jaap Schröder
Rut Ingólfsdóttir
Svava Bernharðsdóttir
Sigurður Halldórsson
Penelope Crawford

Skálholt String Quartet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Composition History

Mozart's three major works for clarinet, including the two on this album, were inspired by his friend and fellow Freemason, Anton Stadler, an innovative clarinet performer and designer.

Interpretation

This recording of the Clarinet Quintet, K. 581, departs from the published 1801 version by restoring extra low notes available on Stadler's original extended-range clarinet.

Composition History

The Clarinet Quintet, K. 581, was premiered on December 22, 1789, as part of a benefit concert for the Tonkünstler-Societät, an organization supporting musicians' widows and orphans.

Compositional Technique

The Clarinet Trio, K. 498, is unusual for its bold experimentation with instruments, using a wind instrument as the upper voice and a tenor string instrument in both melodic and accompanying roles.

Instruments

Anton Stadler, for whom Mozart composed these works, designed an extended-range 'basset clarinet' with a lower range extended by a major third compared to standard instruments.

Composition History

The Clarinet Trio, K. 498, was composed for Francisca Jacquin, a pianist and Mozart's student, with Anton Stadler playing clarinet and Mozart himself playing the viola.

Composition History

The nickname 'Kegelstatt' (Bowling-Alley) for the Clarinet Trio, K. 498, is bogus; it was added by later publishers and does not reflect Mozart's own title for the work.