Traditionally a clarinet quintet is a

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations * Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics * Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

made up of one

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, plus the standard

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

of two

violins The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, one

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

, and one

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

. Now the term clarinet quintet can refer to five B clarinets; four B clarinets and a

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

; three B clarinets and two bass clarinets; one E clarinet, two B clarinets, and two bass clarinets; or one E clarinet, two B clarinets, one E alto clarinet, and one bass clarinet. The term is also used to refer to a piece written for one of these ensembles.

History

One of the earliest and most influential works for this combination of instruments is Mozart's Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, K. 581, written for the clarinetist

Anton Stadler Anton Paul Stadler (28 June 1753, in Bruck an der Leitha – 15 June 1812, in Vienna) was an Austrian clarinet and basset horn player for whom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote, amongst others, both his Clarinet Quintet (K 581) and Clarinet Concer ...

in 1789. Although a few compositions for this ensemble were produced over the following years, including the Clarinet Quintet in B major, Op. 34 by

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...

, a composer famous for his solo clarinet compositions, it was not until

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

composed his Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 for Richard Mühlfeld that the clarinet quintet began to receive considerable attention from composers.

Works for clarinet quintet

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

– Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581 (1789) * Johann Georg Heinrich Backofen - Clarinet Quintet in B major, Op. 15. *

Sigismund Neukomm Sigismond Neukomm or Sigismund Ritter von Neukomm fter ennoblement as a knight">ennoblement.html" ;"title="fter ennoblement">fter ennoblement as a knight(10 July 1778, in Salzburg – 3 April 1858, in Paris) was an Austrian composer and pianist ...

- Clarinet Quintet in B major, Op. 8. *

– Clarinet Quintet in B major, Op. 34 (1811–1815) * Giacomo Meyerbeer – Clarinet Quintet in E major (1813) *

Anton Reicha Anton (Antonín, Antoine) Joseph Reicha (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Beethoven, he is now best rem ...

– Clarinet Quintet in B major, Op. 89 (1820) and Quintet in F major for clarinet or oboe and string quartet, Op. 107 (1829) *

Heinrich Baermann Heinrich Joseph Baermann (also spelled Bärmann; 14 February 1784 – 11 June 1847) was a German clarinet virtuoso of the Romantic era who is generally considered as being not only an outstanding performer of his time, but highly influential in ...

– three clarinet quintets * Thomas Täglichsbeck – Clarinet Quintet in B major, Op. 44 (1863) *

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

– Suite in G minor, BV 176 (1880) *

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov; ger, Glasunow (, 10 August 1865 – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 ...

– ''Rêverie orientale'', Op. 14 (1886) *

– Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 (1891) *

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 18751 September 1912) was a British composer and conductor. Of mixed-race birth, Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white New York musicians as the "African Mahler" when ...

– Clarinet Quintet in F minor, Op. 10 (1895) *

Henri Marteau Henri Marteau (31 March 1874 – 3 October 1934) was a French violinist and composer, who obtained Swedish citizenship in 1915. Life and career Marteau was born in Reims. He was of German and French ancestry. His father, a Frenchman, was a well k ...

– Clarinet Quintet in C minor, Op. 13 (1908) *

Joseph Holbrooke Joseph Charles Holbrooke (5 July 18785 August 1958) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. Life Early years Joseph Holbrooke was born Joseph Charles Holbrook in Croydon, Surrey. His father, also named Joseph, was a music hall music ...

– ''Cavatina and Variations'', Clarinet Quintet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15b (1910) and Clarinet Quintet No. 2 ''Ligeia'' in G major, Op. 27 (1910, revised 1939 and c.1956; original title ''Fate'') *

Robert Fuchs Robert Fuchs (15 February 1847 – 19 February 1927) was an Austrian composer and music teacher. As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in hi ...

– Clarinet Quintet in E major, Op. 102 (1914) *

Alexander Krein Alexander Abramovich Krein (; 20 October 1883 in Nizhny Novgorod – 25 April 1951 in Staraya Ruza, Moscow Oblast) was a Soviet composer. Background The Krein family was steeped in the klezmer tradition; his father Abram (who moved to Russia fr ...

– ''Three Sketches on Hebrew Themes'' for Clarinet Quintet, Op. 12 (1914) and ''Two Sketches on Hebrew Themes'' for Clarinet Quintet, Op. 13 (1914) *

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

– Clarinet Quintet in A major, Op. 146 (1915–1916) *

Herbert Howells Herbert Norman Howells (17 October 1892 – 23 February 1983) was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music. Life Background and early education Howells was born in Lydney, Gloucest ...

– ''Rhapsodic Quintet'', Op. 31 (1917) *

Arthur Somervell Sir Arthur Somervell (5 June 18632 May 1937) was an English composer and art song writer. After Hubert Parry, he was one of the most successful and influential writers of art song in the English music renaissance of the 1890s–1900s. One of his ...

– Clarinet Quintet in G major (1919) *

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

– Clarinet Quintet, Op. 30 (1923, revised 1954) *

Günter Raphael Günter Raphael (30 April 1903 – 19 October 1960) was a German composer. Born in Berlin, Raphael was the grandson of composer Albert Becker. His first symphony was premiered by Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1926 in Leipzig. From 1926 to 1934 he taug ...

– Clarinet Quintet in F major, Op. 4 (1924) *

Quincy Porter William Quincy Porter (February 7, 1897 – November 12, 1966) was an American composer and teacher of classical music. Biography Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he went to Yale University where his teachers included Horatio Parker and David St ...

– Clarinet Quintet (1929) *

Arthur Bliss Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss (2 August 189127 March 1975) was an English composer and conductor. Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army. In the post-war years he qu ...

– Clarinet Quintet, F. 20 (1932) *

Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about ...

– Clarinet Quintet in G minor (1939) *

Boris Papandopulo Boris Papandopulo (February 25, 1906 – October 16, 1991) was a Croatian composer and conductor of Greek and Russian Jewish descent. Ha-Kol (Glasilo Židovske zajednice u Hrvatskoj); Djela hrvatskih skladatelja Židovskog podrijetla u Beču; s ...

– Clarinet Quintet (1960) *

Paul Ben-Haim Paul Ben-Haim (or Paul Ben-Chaim, Hebrew: פאול בן חיים) (5 July 1897 – 14 January 1984) was an Israeli composer. Born Paul Frankenburger in Munich, Germany, he studied composition with Friedrich Klose and he was assistant conductor t ...

– Clarinet Quintet, Op. Op. 31a (1941, revised 1965) *

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...

– Two Pieces for Clarinet & String Quartet (1961); Clarinet & String Quartet (1983) * Kurt George Roger – Clarinet Quintet, Op. 116 (1966) *

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...

– ''Souvenirs de voyage'' (1967) *

Jean Françaix Jean René Désiré Françaix (; 23 May 1912, in Le Mans – 25 September 1997, in Paris) was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator, known for his prolific output and vibrant style. Life Françaix's natural gifts were encour ...

– Clarinet Quintet (1977) *

Isang Yun Isang Yun, also spelled Yun I-sang (17 September 1917 – 3 November 1995), was a Korean-born composer who made his later career in West Germany. Early life and education Yun was born in Sancheong (Sansei), Korea under Japanese rule, Chōsen ...

– Clarinet Quintet No. 1 (1984) and Clarinet Quintet No. 2 (1994) *

Edison Denisov Edison Vasilievich Denisov (russian: Эдисо́н Васи́льевич Дени́сов, 6 April 1929 – 24 November 1996) was a Russian composer in the so-called " Underground", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division of Soviet music. ...

– Clarinet Quintet (1987) *

Dan Welcher Dan Welcher (born March 2, 1948)Joshua Kosman, "Welcher, Dan (Edward)", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001)Nicolas Slonimsky, Laura Kuh ...

– Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet *

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Ellen Taaffe Zwilich ( ; born April 30, 1939) is an American composer, the first female composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Her early works are marked by atonal exploration, but by the late 1980s, she had shifted to a postmodernist, n ...

– Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet (1990) *

Sean Osborn Sean Osborn (born 1966) is a former clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and a regular substitute in the clarinet section of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. He has been a student of Stanley Hasty, Frank Kowalsky, and Eric Mandat. Clar ...

– Clarinet Quintet (1995) and Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, "The

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

" (2004) *

Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his Serialism, serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia t ...

– Clarinet Quintet (1996) * Jennifer Higdon – ''Soliloquy'' *

Howard J. Buss Howard J. Buss (born January 6, 1951 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. Buss’ works include instrumental solos, chamber music, symphonic, choral, and band works. His music has received awards, ...

– ''Millennium Visions'' (1999) *

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Sa ...

– ''Vier Studien zu einem Klarinettenquintett'' (2002) *

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...

– Clarinet Quintet (2007) *

Ned Rothenberg Ned Rothenberg (born September 15, 1956) is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer. He specializes in woodwind instruments, including the alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). He is known ...

– Quintet for clarinet and strings (2007) * David Bruce – ''Gumboots'' (2008) * Jesús Torres – Clarinet Quintet (2009) *

Airat Ichmouratov Airat Rafailovich Ichmouratov (russian: Айрат Рафаилович Ишмуратов, Tatar Cyrillic: Айрат Рафаил улы Ишмурат,) born 28 June 1973) is a Volga Tatar born Russians, Russian / Canadians, Canadian composer ...

''One Day of an Almost Ordinary Life'', for klezmer clarinet and string quartet, Op. 47 / clarinet and string orchestra Op. 47A (2015) * Geoffrey Gordon – Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (2015) *

Beat Furrer Beat Furrer (born 6 December 1954) is a Swiss-born Austrian composer and conductor. He has served as professor of composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz since 1991. He was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 201 ...

– ''intorno al bianco'' for clarinet and string quartet (2016) *

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2018, Widmann was the third most performed contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of Music Freibu ...

–

Clarinet Quintet Traditionally a clarinet quintet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one clarinet, plus the standard string quartet of two violins, one viola, and one cello. Now the term clarinet quintet can refer to five B clarinets; four B clarinets and a ...

(2017) *

Theodore Antoniou Theodore Antoniou ( el, Θεόδωρος Αντωνίου, ''Theódoros Andoníou''; February 10, 1935 – December 26, 2018), was a Greek composer and conductor. His works vary from operas and choral works to chamber music, from film and theatre m ...

– Clarinet Quintet (unknown) * – Clarinet Quintet (unknown) Composers such as

Franz Krommer Franz Krommer ( cz, František Vincenc Kramář; 27 November 1759 in Kamenice u Jihlavy – 8 January 1831 in Vienna) was a Czech composer of classical music and violinist. He was one of the most popular composers in the 19th century Vienna. ...

and

Joseph Küffner Joseph Küffner (''Kueffner'') (31 March 1776 in Würzburg – 9 September 1856 in Würzburg). was a German musician and composer who, among other achievements, contributed significantly to the guitar repertory, including chamber music. Life ...

for clarinet quintets which include two violas rather than two violins.

References

External links

* * http://clarinetquintet.web.unc.edu {{Authority control Chamber music

History

Works for clarinet quintet

See also

References

External links