A clarinet concerto is a concerto for clarinet; that is, a musical composition for solo clarinet together with a large ensemble (such as an orchestra or concert band). Albert Rice has identified a work by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli as possibly the earliest known concerto for solo clarinet; its score appears to be titled "Concerto per il Clareto" and may date from 1733. It may, however, be intended for soprano chalumeau.[1] There are earlier concerti grossi with concertino clarinet parts including two by Johann Valentin Rathgeber, published in 1728.[2]
Famed publishing house Breitkopf & Härtel published the first clarinet concerto in 1772. The instrument's popularity soared and a flurry of early clarinet concertos ensued.[3] Many of these early concertos have largely been forgotten, though German clarinettist Dieter Klocker specialized in these "lost" works.[4] Famous clarinet concertos of the Classical and early Romantic era include those of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Carl Maria von Weber and Louis Spohr.
Relatively few clarinet concertos, or wind instrument concertos generally, were produced during the middle and late Romantic music era, but the form became more popular in the twentieth century, with famous clarinet concertos from Carl Nielsen and Aaron Copland, as well as more recent ones by composers such as John Adams, Kalevi Aho, Elliott Carter, John Corigliano, Magnus Lindberg, Donald Martino, Christopher Rouse, and John Williams.
The modern clarinet did not exist before about 1700. There are, however, a number of concertos written for its antecedent, the chalumeau.
The discovery of six clarinet concertos by Johann Melchior Molter (1696–1765) — the first of which may date from 1743[5] — and three concerti grossi for clarinet and oboe written by Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) as far back as 1711[6] have led music historians to revise the common view that the first concerto for the instrument was written by Johann Stamitz around 1755.[citation needed]
Other concertos from the Classical era include those by Deshayes, Fuchs, Jan Kalous, Joseph Lacher, Lang, Philipp Meissner, Pfeilsticker, J.B. Wanhal, Wenzel Pichel, Johan Stich, and J.C. Stumpf.[3]