The First Clarinet Concerto (C minor, Op.26) is Louis Spohr's first solo composition for clarinet. Brunswick clarinetist Tretbach later claimed that Spohr had written a concerto for him but this work is also spurious. Tretbach merely transcribed the first movement of Spohr's Sixth Violin Concerto, a slow movement from a work by Lindpaintner and the finale from a concerto by Krommer.

Johann Simon Hermstedt arrived in Gotha and played at one of the court subscription concerts. Spohr heard him and was much impressed with his "immense virtuosity, brilliance of tone and purity of intonation". He gladly assented to the terms of the commission under which he was to receive a handsome gratuity while, for the time being, Hermstedt was to retain possession of the manuscript. Greatly encouraged and stimulated, Spohr immediately began work on the C minor concerto and completed it in a few weeks. "I gave free rein to my fancy", he later wrote. Spohr personally delivered the work into Hermstedt's hands during January, 1809. The dedication was to the Prince of Sondershausen.

Spohr had sought Hermstedt's advice in general matters concerning the capabilities of the clarinet but even so he had paid too little attention to its limitations and had written passages that were impractical for an instrument still in the relatively early stages of its development. "Far from asking me to alter these passages", he wrote in the first edition of the work, "Herr Hermstedt sought to perfect his instrument". In all, Hermstedt made eight modifications to his clarinet in the form of extra keys and holes, improving the quality of some notes, enabling a greater variety of cross and false fingerings, giving more security in the top register and improving certain awkward trills.

Hermstedt was well rewarded for his labours. At the first performance in Sondershausen on June 16, 1809, the concerto was an instant and unqualified success, establishing him there and then as one of the foremost living virtuosos. The success of his future concert tours was assured. Spohr too was well satisfied, for the critics were united in their praise of the work; precisely the encouragement to compose further that he needed. Hermstedt played the concerto twice more that year (November 23 and 28) in Leipzig where it was subsequently published by Kühnel (later Peters Edition) as Op.26. A long and rewarding partnership was born and also cemented by the fact that both men were dedicated freemasons, like their idol Mozart.

It is not surprising that the first concerto was so successful. It is a masterpiece and for its time replete with strikingly original devices. The first movement opens with a slow introduction; a quiet drumroll introduces a yearning theme in the wind, rising to an orchestral climax with a flourish of trumpets. This leads to the Allegro and one of the most beautiful solo entries in all Spohr's concertos. Throughout his career, Spohr strove towards a symphonic conception of the concerto. One of the devices he utilized was the slow introduction. This features first in his music in the A major violin concerto of 1803-04 (WoO.12), of symphonic proportions, clearly derived from the practice of Haydn and Mozart in some of their mature symphonies. However, in this later concerto the introduction is not merely an effective curtain-raiser; it replaces the more customary orchestral exposition and in a few bars sets the tone of the whole work.

The yearning theme becomes the movement's main idea and is subtly transformed to provide the second subject also. Spohr introduces a new idea con espressivo in the development as an alternative to the empty passagework common at this point in the concertos of most of his contemporaries. Generally, bravura passages in Spohr's concertos are derived from the thematic material, thereby increasing the unity of individual movements. Spohr undoubtedly drew some inspiration for this opening movement from Haydn's Symphony No.95 in C minor. The themes of the older composer's work and the way the minor key of the piece soon gives way to the major clearly had an impact on Spohr's movement. The crowning glory of the work is the all too brief Adagio in A major. Delicately scored for clarinet, first and second violins, and cellos only, it provides an interlude of calm between the drama of the first movement and the brilliant exuberance of the finale. Some of Spohr's most endearing qualities are to be found in the Adagio; serene and lovely melody with a hint of chromaticism imparting a wistful flavor. The finale is a spirited rondo with the wind in the orchestra often taking over the solo role while the clarinet indulges in a wealth of accompanying figuration. There are some hair-raising triplet passages and a characteristic bitter-sweet twist to the second theme. Spohr shows his romantic leanings in the hushed ending of the work.

(The above essay is from Spohr Journal 2001).

Courtesy of Spohr Society of Great Britain www.spohr-society.org.uk

Writer: Keith Anderson