Sunday 3 May

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Clarinet Concerto in A major K622
¹⁷⁹¹

1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Rondo: Allegro

Andrew Marriner clarinet

_{MOZART, STADLER & THE BASSET CLARINET}

Mozart’s last great instrumental composition owes its existence to the clarinettist Anton Stadler, for whom it was written in the autumn of 1791. In part, it owes its greatness to him too. Stadler was not only one of the foremost clarinettists of his day, known for the soft, voice-like quality of his playing, he was also another friend of the composer, having already inspired him to create the superb Clarinet Quintet in 1789. Stadler was fond of the woody, mellow sound of the clarinet’s lower register and had developed an instrument which gave extra notes at this bottom end. In the event, this variant – known as the basset clarinet – did not catch on, but it was around long enough for Mozart to compose for it both the Quintet and the Concerto and thereby insure it against total obsolescence. (Tonight’s performance is of the work’s first published version, which adapted it for the narrower compass of the conventional clarinet.)

_{A 'PERFECTLY PLEASING' CONCERTO}

What really distinguishes this Concerto, however, is that it is a culmination of Mozart’s unsurpassed achievements as a master of the concerto form, an effortless coming-together of the elements – structural coherence, appealing tunefulness, virtuosity and a talent for melodic characterisation carried over from his work in the opera house – with which he had moulded the concerto into a sophisticated mode of expression.

Yet perhaps the most impressive thing about it is its simplicity. Here is a work with no great surprises or alarms, only music of perfectly pleasing melodic charm and structural ‘rightness’. The first movement is unusually expansive, with the same relaxed lyricism that characterises the two piano concertos Mozart had already composed in the same key. The finale is a suave and witty rondo with a memorable recurring theme, but it is the central slow movement that brings some of the loveliest music not only of this concerto but also of Mozart’s entire output. The exquisite melody with which it begins and ends – presented delicately by the soloist at first, then warmly echoed by the orchestra – is essential Mozart, deeply moving yet at the same time noble and restrained.

_{Note by Lindsay Kemp}

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major K297b

1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Andantino con variazioni

Juliana Koch oboe
Chris Richards clarinet
Rachel Gough bassoon
Timothy Jones horn

_{THE 'LOST' CONCERTO}

Today Mozart’s wind-writing continues to keep many a player happy, but even so it is easy to imagine how eyes must have lit up in 1869 when the discovery was announced of a ‘lost’ Sinfonia Concertante for oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon. Mozart was indeed known to have composed a sinfonia concertante (essentially a concerto for more than one soloist) during his six-month stay in Paris in 1778, although that was for flute, oboe, horn and bassoon. It had been intended for three of the players Mozart had met in Mannheim the previous year (flautist Johann Wendling, Friedrich Ramm the oboist, and bassoonist Georg Ritter), plus the horn player Johann Stich (known as Giovanni Punto), all of whom were visiting the French capital on a concert tour. It was never performed, however, and the score was lost. Mozart suspected local intrigue.

_{COMPOSED BY MOZART?}

Enthusiasm for the theory that the rediscovered Sinfonia Concertante was a version of the lost one has faded over the years. If it is by Mozart it does not always show him at his best, despite some elegant writing for the soloists, but there is still enough of a whiff of the composer about it to suggest the possibility that he had at least some hand in it. One theory holds that the wind parts were adaptations from the originals, while the orchestral accompaniments and interludes were written by someone else. It is difficult, of course, to identify a composer’s style in a genre he attempted only once. The assured constructions he devised for his wonderful solo concertos are not always appropriate for a work with four soloists, where a more relaxed and collaborative approach is required.

If there is a sense of the master’s hand in the neatly disposed solos of K297b, it reaches its height in the rich lyricism of the Adagio, a movement whose glowing warmth surely presents the strongest case for associating Mozart with the work. The finale is a set of variations on a jaunty theme, and while the little refrain which follows each variation is not particularly characteristic, the movement is both entertaining and imaginative.

_{Note by Lindsay Kemp}

The LSO was established in 1904 and has a unique ethos. As a musical collective, it is built on artistic ownership and partnership. With an inimitable signature sound, the LSO’s mission is to bring the greatest music to the greatest number of people.

The LSO has been the only Resident Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in the City of London since it opened in 1982, giving 70 symphonic concerts there every year. The Orchestra works with a family of artists that includes some of the world’s greatest conductors – Sir Simon Rattle as Music Director, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, and Michael Tilson Thomas as Conductor Laureate.

Through LSO Discovery, it is a pioneer of music education, offering musical experiences to 60,000 people every year at its music education centre LSO St Luke’s on Old Street, across East London and further afield.

The LSO strives to embrace new digital technologies in order to broaden its reach, and with the formation of its own record label LSO Live in 1999 it pioneered a revolution in recording live orchestral music. With a discography spanning many genres and including some of the most iconic recordings ever made the LSO is now the most recorded and listened to orchestra in the world, regularly reaching over 3,500,000 people worldwide each month on Spotify and beyond. The Orchestra continues to innovate through partnerships with market-leading tech companies, as well as initiatives such as LSO Play. The LSO is a highly successful creative enterprise, with 80% of all funding self-generated.

_{Image: Ranald Mackechnie}