The classic clarinet
The Vienna way
Hoffmeister–Mozart
FiBO Players:
Asko Heiskanen, clarinet
Anthony Marini, violin
Tiina Aho-Erola, violin
Tuula Riisalo, viola
Lea Pekkala, cello
ATTENTION! The concert in Annala Villa on 4th of August will be hold in the open air, if the weather is favourable. In any case there will be only 20 ticket available.
The clarinet was invented in the beginning of the 18th century and several composers like Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Hoffmeister began to use this new and fascinating instrument in their compositions. The sound of a classic clarinet made of boxwood is softer and more intimate than its modern equivalent, but having said that the instrument is also able to create strong sounds. The instrument’s range is also very wide: over three octaves!
Franz Anton Hoffmeister was both a composer and a renowned publisher who published, for instance, music by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Hoffmeister’s clarinet quartet in A major begins by playfully showing the wide range of the instrument, seasoned with the composer’s typical humoristic touch. In the second part the talking clarinet tells an emotional story accompanied by the string trio. The piece ends with a fast dance from the countryside where the clarinet and the strings alternate in a fortunate and happy ambiance.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a clarinet quintet in A major for the Austrian clarinet and basset horn virtuoso Anton Stadler. The premiere of the piece took place during a performance of the opera Il natale d’Apollo by Righini (during the intermission). The first part is a virtuoso and pretentious mix of alternately sung and fast phrases. The second part is a lullaby where the clarinet and the first violin alternate with the melody and decorative patterns. The third part, the minuet, combines several different affects, ambiances, in different keys. The variation structured last part puts, again, the spotlight on everybody, from the lovely viola tango to the virtuoso violin and clarinet scales.
Duration: 50 min (no intermission)