Clarinet quartet

Traditionally, a clarinet quartet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one clarinet, plus the standard string trio of one violin, one viola and one cello. Nowadays, the term clarinet quartet can also refer to a combination of four clarinets of any size [including (contr)alto and (contra)bass clarinet, and basset horn]. The term is also used to refer to a piece written for any of these ensembles.

History

During the second half of eighteenth and the first of the nineteenth centuries, a large number of quartets for clarinet and string trio were written and published, particularly in Paris, as they proved highly popular in Parisian salon concerts, apparently even more so than quintets for clarinet and strings. Among the earliest examples are the six quartets by Carl Stamitz published as his opus 8 in 1773. Most of these are in a concertante style, treating the clarinet as soloist.

Works for clarinet quartet

The following is an incomplete list of quartets for clarinet, violin, viola and cello, with their composers in alphabetical order.

• Carl Baermann
  • Clarinet quartet, op. 18 [published by Schott]
• Heinrich Baermann
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major, op. 18 (1816-1817) [published by Gambaro, Breitkopf & Härtel (1818/19) and Schott (ca. 1820)]
• Matthäus Blasius (1782, 1782–84, ca. 1788 and ca. 1799)
  • 3 Clarinet quartets (F major, E-flat major and B-flat major), op. 1 [published by Sieber (1782)]
  • 3 Clarinet quartets (G major, F major and B-flat major) [published by Breitkopf & Härtel (1782/4)]
  • 6 Clarinet quartets, op. 13 [published by Sieber (1788?)]
• Charles Bochsa (ca. 1795)
  • 3 Clarinet quartets, op. 1 [published by Momigny (1805) and Janet]
  • 3 Clarinet quartets, op. 2 [published by Momigny (1805)]
  • 3 Clarinet quartets, op. 3 [published by Momigny (1805) and Sieber]
  • 3 Nocturnes for clarinet and string trio, op. 14 [published by Dufaut & Dubois]
  • 3 Nocturnes for clarinet and string trio, op. 24 [published by Dufaut & Dubois]
  • Clarinet quartet, op. 30 [published by Dufaut & Dubois]
  • Clarinet quartet in F major
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major
  • Clarinet quartet in C major
  • Romances de Gilles variés for clarinet and string trio [published by Dufaut & Dubois]
• Christian Cannabich
  • 2 Clarinet quartets (F major and B-flat major) (1774)
• Charles-Simon Catel (ca. 1796)
• Bernhard Crusell
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major, op. 2 [published by Kühnel (1812), Costallat and Richault]
  • Clarinet quartet in C minor, op. 4 [published by Peters (1816), Gambaro and Richault]
  • Clarinet quartet in D major, op. 7 [published by Peters (1823)]
• François Devienne
• Franz Anton Dimmler
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major (1798)
• Georg Druschetzky
  • Clarinet quartet in F major
• Charles Duvernoy
  • 3 Clarinet quartets (E-flat major, B-flat major and E-flat major) [published by Hentz and Jouve (ca. 1806 to 1814)]
• Georg Friedrich Fuchs (1788-1791)
  • 3 Clarinet quartets, op. 2
  • 3 Clarinet quartets (E-flat major, F major and C major), op. 5 [published by Imbault]
  • 3 Clarinet quartets, op. 6 [published by Imbault]
  • 3 Clarinet quartets, op. 7 [published by Gaveaux]
  • Clarinet quartets, op. 13 [published by Imbault]
  • 3 Clarinet quartets, op. 39
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major
• Berthold Goldschmidt
  • Clarinet quartet (1983)
• Carl Andreas Göpfert (ca. 1803 and 1818)
  • Clarinet quartet, op. 2 [published by André]
  • 2 Clarinet quartets (C minor and B-flat major), op. 16 [published by André]
  • 3 Clarinet quartets (F major, B-flat major and E-flat major), op. 36 [published by André]
• Adalbert Gyrowetz
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major
• Peter Hänsel
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major, op. 19 (ca. 1808)
• Pieter Hellendaal
• Johann Simon Hermstedt
  • Clarinet quartet
• Franz Anton Hoffmeister (ca. 1802)
  • Three clarinet quartets (E-flat major, B-flat major, E-flat major)
  • Six clarinet quartets (B-flat major, E-flat major, D major, B-flat major, E-flat major, E-flat major)
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major (1799)
• Johann Nepomuk Hummel
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major (1808)
• Leopold Koželuch
• Conradin Kreutzer
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major, KWV 5203 (1800)
• Franz Krommer (ca. 1802, 1811, 1814, and 1816)
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major, P IX:3 (op. 21 no. 2)
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major, P IX:4 (op. 21 no. 1)
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major, P IX:5 (op. 69)
  • Clarinet quartet in D major, P IX:12 (op. 82)
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major, P IX:13 (op. 83)
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major, P IX:B1
• Johann Küchler (1774)
  • 6 Clarinet quartets (F major, C major, C major, F major, G major and F major)
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major
• Jean-Xavier Lefèvre (ca. 1805)
  • 3 Clarinet quartets, op. 2 [published by Jouve (ca. 1818)]
  • 3 Clarinet quartets (C minor, E-flat major and B-flat major) (3^me Livre de Quatuors) [published by Sieber]
  • Clarinet quartets, with François Simonet [published by Naderman]
• John Mahon
• Friedrich Mainzer
  • 12 Clarinet quartets [published by Breitkopf & Härtel (1785/7)]
• Donald Martino
  • Clarinet quartet (1957)
• Philipp Meissner
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major, op. 1 [published by Schott]
  • Clarinet quartet in F major, op. 2 (1814-1819) [published by Schott]
• Friedrich Müller
  • Clarinet quartet, op. 80 [published by Hofmeister]
• Iwan Müller (1817–18)
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major (1816) [published by André (1821)]
  • Clarinet quartet in E minor [published by André (1821) and Ricordi]
  • Clarinet quartet [published by Gambaro]
• Johann Georg Nanz
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major
• Krzysztof Penderecki
  • Clarinet quartet (1993)
• Václav Pichl (ca. 1790)
  • 3 Clarinet quartets (E-flat major, B-flat major and E-flat major), op. 16
• Ignaz Pleyel
  • 3 Clarinet quartets (C major, E-flat major and B-flat major) (1791)
• Gaspard Proksch
  • 6 Clarinet quartets, op. 1 [published by Sieber (ca. 1770)]
• Alan Rawsthorne
  • Clarinet quartet (1948)
• Valentin Roeser
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major
• Nicholas Schmidt
  • Clarinet quartet [published by Sieber (ca. 1789)]
  • 3 Clarinet quartets [published by Leduc]
• Carl Stamitz
  • 6 Clarinet quartets, op. 8 (1773)
• Paul Struck (ca. 1795)
  • Clarinet quartet in F major, op. 12 (1813)
• Franz Tausch
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major (ca. 1815)[published by André (1820)]
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major, op. 30 (ca. 1817) [published by Schott (ca. 1820/1)]
• Albert Walter
  • 6 Clarinet quartets, op. 27 [published by Pleyel]
• Johann Baptist Wanhal
  • Clarinet quartet in F, op. 7 no. 1 (W Vb:F1)
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major, op. 7 no. 2 (W Vb:B1)
• Johann Paul Wesseley
• Peter von Winter
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major
• Franz Xaver Wolf
  • 4 Clarinet quartets
• Michèl Yost and Johann Vogel (ca. 1789)
  • 6 Clarinet quartets, op. 1 (1798) [published by Decombe]
  • 6 Clarinet quartets, op. 2 (1790-1791) [published by Decombe]
  • 6 Clarinet quartets, op. 3 (1798) [published by Decombe]
  • 6 Clarinet quartets (B-flat major, A-flat major, A major, B-flat major, F major and C major), op. 4 [published by Decombe]
  • 6 Clarinet quartets, op. 5 (1798) [published by Decombe]
  • 5 Clarinet quartets [published by Frey and Sieber (ca. 1798)]

Arrangements

Around 1799, arrangements for clarinet quartet of three of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's chamber works appeared in publication, possibly by Johann Anton André: the violin sonata in B-flat major, K 378/317d, the violin sonata in E-flat major, K 380/374f, and the piano trio in G major, K 496.

References

External links

• Clarinet Quartets: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project