ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY “MOZART AND THE USE OF CLARINET IN HIS SYMPHONIES” Neil Tafelmeyer, M.M. Candidate North Dakota State University Clarinet Research Project
Anderson, Emily. The Letters of Mozart and His Family. 2nd edition. Volume II. New York: St. Martin’s, 1966. Anderson provides an excellent resource to anyone researching Mozart. This two-volume work includes more letters compared with other sources. This book was helpful to my research in that it includes a letter to Mozart’s father expressing his fondness for the clarinet. The author provides the reader with a convenient list of all the letters included in the book. Baines, Anthony. Woodwind Instruments and Their History. Revised Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 1963. Baines writes a very comprehensive history and overview of the woodwind instruments used in Western music. The book is organized into general information, i.e., mouthpieces, bore, and different size instruments within the family. The second part of the book covers the history of each instrument starting with the instrument’s predecessor. This book was helpful in my research in that it provided a good historical overview of the clarinet and discusses its use in early Eighteenth Century orchestras. Billeter, William. “Analysis of Mozart Symphony No. 39 in E-flat.” M.A. thesis, University of Utah, 1955. Billeter researches the history, reception, orchestration, and structure of this symphony. It is a well written thesis paper with the majority of the material focusing on the structure and harmony of the piece. Billeter writes that Mozart chose to exclude the oboe parts in the symphony due to the fact that the instrument had difficulties playing in the key of E-flat. The bibliography is very helpful for finding further sources on Mozart’s Symphony No. 39. Brown, A Peter. The Symphonic Repertoire Volume II: The First Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 2002.
An excellent resource on the symphonies of Mozart. The book begins with an Introduction on the Classical symphony and is helpful in that it puts the symphonies of Mozart in Context. Each symphony of Mozart is discussed, with more of an analytical focus. Brown also provides recent research on erroneous symphonies first attributed to Mozart. The symphonies are organized chronologically with about a paragraph spent on each movement. The information can be difficult to read; Brown uses confusing abbreviations for structural parts within the sonata form and sometimes the abbreviations prevent clarity. Carse, Adam. The History of Orchestration. New York: Dover, 1964. This book is one of the standard texts on orchestration. The book begins with the orchestras of the Seventeenth Century and ends with Strauss, Debussy, and Elgar. The chapter most helpful to me was chapter VIII, The Period of Haydn and Mozart. In this chapter the addition of the clarinet is discussed as well as its role within the orchestra and the problems it poised for composers. Select symphonies of Haydn and Mozart are discussed, providing musical examples of orchestral techniques. Dearling, Robert. The Music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Symphonies. Rutherford, NJ: Fairlegh Dickinson University Press, 1982. This was a very helpful book in my research. Dearling not only provided historical information on each symphony, but also gave insights into Mozart’s orchestrations. Also helpful are the Author’s informative introduction and conclusion sections. The information provided is insightful and easy to read. Dickinson, A.F.F. A Study of Mozart’s Last Three Symphonies. London: Oxford University Press, 1927. One of the standard books on the Last symphonies of Mozart. The book is well written in a language easy to understand. Dickinson provides helpful bibliographies, indexes, and a catalogue of Mozart’s works discussed in the book. A large portion of the book is given to the discussion as to why Mozart wrote the last three symphonies and as to why he re-orchestrated K. 550 to include two clarinets. The book is rather old, thus many more theories have sprung up. Donovan, Margaret Ann. “The Haffner Symphony K. 385 by W.A. Mozart.” D.M.A. diss., Stanford. University, 1933. This dissertation presents an in-depth look into Mozart’s Haffner symphony. This is the first Vienna symphony of Mozart’s to include clarinets; although a version without clarinets was written for Salzburg. Donovan explores the two versions of the symphony and tries to answer why Mozart excluded the first Minuet written for the Salzburg.
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Deutsch, Otto Erich. Mozart: A Documentary Biography. Translated by Eric Blom, Peter Branscombe, and Jeremy Noble. Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1965. As the title of the book suggests, this biography is not a narrative; instead Deutsch uses letters, programs, and other documents to tell the story of Mozart’s life chronologically. The author does include some commentary below the document. This book provides a copy of a program of a concert in 1791 where Mozart’s K.550 may have been performed with the Stadlers. Evanek, Edward G. “Mozart’s Use of the Clarinet, 1771-1782.” M.A. thesis, Pennsylvania State University, 1961. Evanek provides the researcher an excellent resource on Mozart’s early clarinet works. Many of these works are hard to find and are unknown. Evanek uses the Koechel catalogue and early biographies to find these works. The author takes into consideration range, technique, and solo usage. Küster, Konrad. Mozart: A Musical Biography. Translated by Mary Whitall. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996. In this book, Küster focuses on specific pieces or topics and tries to find a new angle on previously believed ideas. The book has information on every symphony Mozart wrote with the clarinet. In addition, the author writes excellent essays on the “Kegelstatt” Trio, K.498, and the clarinet concerto. The chapter on the last three symphonies was very helpful to me, giving an in-depth historical account of composition. Küster argues that Mozart wrote these symphonies as a set of three to be published. Not much discussion is on the use of the clarinets. Landon, H.C. Robbins. Mozart: The Golden Years. New York: Macmillan, 1989. Good historical research of Mozart’s life in Vienna. The author gives a biographical account of Mozart’s years spent in Vienna as a free-lance musician. Landon discusses many topics pertaining to Mozart’s life such as finances and personal relationships. Also discussed are the musical tastes of the Viennese public at the time. Not much information is provided on the symphonies; however, dates of composition and performances are provides. Landon includes programs from Mozart’s subscription concerts. This book also features many plates of Mozart’s Vienna lodgings and concert venues. Lawson, Colin. Mozart Clarinet Concerto. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. In his book, Lawson creates an essential resource on the Mozart clarinet concerto. All aspects surrounding the concerto are discussed. The first part of the book discusses the history of the clarinet and its predecessor, the chalumeau. The history of the classical clarinet is focused on the musical
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centers where Mozart traveled: Paris, London, and Mannheim. The next chapter focuses on Mozart’s clarinet writing before the concerto and his access to clarinets in Salzburg. Also important is the chapter on Mozart’s relationship to Stadler and Stadler’s basset clarinet. Lawson’s research is excellent and his writing style is very accessible. _____________. “Single Reeds Before 1750.” In The Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet. Edited by Colin Lawson, 1-17. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. This article was very helpful to the beginning of my research. The information is thorough and easy to read. This article provides the history of the chalumeau through the invention of the clarinet. Composers and repertoire are also provided. Rice, Albert R. The Clarinet in the Classical Period. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Rice’s book is a valuable resource on many aspects of the Classical clarinet, touching on design, history, performance practice, repertoire, and more. The section most helpful to my research was the section on symphonic repertoire. Rice organizes this chapter by country and provides a nice list of composers who included the clarinet in their symphonies, and a brief description of the clarinet parts. Read, Gardner. Style and Orchestration. New York: Macmillan, 1979. Style and Orchestration provides the reader with a comprehensive look at the technique of orchestration from the pre-Classical to the modern orchestra. The information provided is very thorough, though Read does not provide a history of the instruments used. The chapter most helpful to me was the second chapter: The Classical Orchestra, where the orchestrations of Mozart and Haydn were discussed. Read makes good references to the use of the clarinet in the Classical orchestra as well as the role of the other wind instruments. A helpful bibliography is included. Sadie, Stanley. Mozart Symphonies. London: Ariel Music, 1986. In his book, Sadie has added to the standard texts on Mozart’s symphonies. The book is every bit as detailed as the works of Saint-foix and Zaslaw. A lot of information is presented and can be difficult to read at times. Prerequisite knowledge is required. The book is well organized and is easy to find information on a specific symphony. Mozart’s orchestration is discussed in moderate detail.
Saint-foix, Georges De. The Symphonies of Mozart. Translated by Leslie Orrey. New York: Dover, 1968. 4
This book is on of the most respected books on the symphonies of Mozart. The book is organized chronologically beginning with the symphonies written in childhood. Saint-foix gives the reader very insightful information. He not only discusses the physical traits of each symphony, but also delves deeper into the emotional impact. At the end of each chapter, Saint-foix gives a helpful summary and puts each symphony in a historical context. Numerous helpful indexes follow including a list of all the symphonies by K. number, and the instrumentation used. Shackelton, Nicholas. “The Development of the Clarinet” In The Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet. Edited by Colin Lawson, 16-32. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. A very accessible article. Shackelton begins his article with the clarinet in the 1750’s and traces its development into the 20th Century. Most helpful to my research was the information on the classical clarinet. The author makes note of the addition of new keys and states the five-keyed clarinet was the basic clarinet in the mature Classic period. Sisman, Elaine. Mozart: The “Jupiter” Symphony. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Even though Mozart’s last symphony does not contain clarinets, this book proved to be very helpful to my research. Sisman spends the first few chapters of her book putting the symphony in context during Mozart’s lifetime. She also discusses the geneses of Mozart’s last three symphonies giving reasons as to why he composed them. Sisman agrees with Landon that the second version of K.550 was written for the Stadler brothers. Spitzer, John, and Neal Zaslaw. The Birth of the Orchestra: History of an Institution, 1650-1815. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. A very detailed resource on the establishment of the orchestra. The book begins with an introductory chapter giving information on the history of orchestral instruments, and the history of orchestration, to name a few. Then the authors trace the development of the orchestra respective to its country. After these chapters, the Classical orchestra is discussed in detail, as well as devices of orchestration. The clarinet is given reference at a basic level. What was most helpful to my research was the many rosters of different Eighteenth Century orchestras citing the number of instruments used. This is an excellent resource to anyone researching the orchestra.
Zaslaw, Neal. Mozart’s Symphonies: Context, Performance Practice, and Reception. Oxford: Clarendon, 1989. Zaslaw has written one of the most thorough resources on Mozart’s
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symphonies. Each symphony is not musically analyzed; the author places them in historical context. Zaslaw uses many letters and other documentation to do this. Before each symphony is discussed, a list of orchestration is provided along with incipits belonging to the first few measures of each movement.
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