Spohr's Clarinet Concertos Nos. 3 and 4 remained unpublished and unknown until the composer's birth centenary in 1884, and were only widely rediscovered in modern times.
Composer Biography
Louis Spohr, the composer, was considered a leading pioneer of early Romanticism and was ranked among the great composers during his lifetime.
Composition History
Louis Spohr's Clarinet Concertos were inspired by his collaboration with clarinet virtuoso Johann Simon Hermstedt, who also inspired works by Mozart, Weber, and Brahms.
Composer Biography
At 21, Louis Spohr became the youngest Music Director in Germany at the court of Gotha, with his employers publicly declaring him older due to his youth.
Composition History
The premiere of Spohr's Clarinet Concerto No. 3 was disrupted by a tremendous thunderstorm, flooding, and left the audience stranded overnight.
Compositional Technique
Louis Spohr generally shunned cadenzas in his clarinet concertos, believing they pandered to the worst side of solo instrumentalists.
Instruments
Johann Simon Hermstedt, the clarinet virtuoso who commissioned Spohr's concertos, adapted and expanded his instrument from five keys to thirteen to suit the music.
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Spohr: Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 26; Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 57
