Clarinet Concerto No.2
I. Allegro
Clarinet Concerto No. 2 Op.74 in Eb Major 1st Movement by Carl Maria von Weber composed in 1811. Like all of Weber's clarinet works except for the Grand Duo Concertant, it is dedicated to Heinrich Baermann, who was soloist at the premiere.
The 1st movement, in E-flat major, begins with an exposition of the main theme by the orchestra. The clarinet soloist enters with a high F (E-flat in terms of concert pitch) followed by a 3 octave jump before repeating the opening theme. This 3 octave jump, along with other large leaps, is stylistic of this movement. The majority of the first half of the movement sits very comfortably in E-flat major before modulating to D-flat major where much of the previous clarinet melodic material is repeated. The movement finishes with a rather virtuosic clarinet part extending to a written A-flat, which is near the limits of clarinet range.
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