Who here has played the Mozart concerto? I`m a sophomore in high school and am working on the 1st movement. I did the 2nd movement last summer. Any tips on how to improve the 16th note runs in the 1st movement?

I`ve played the concerto. The only thing I can think of to do is slow the runs down, and play them with a metronome until they are absolutely even, then get them up to speed.
If you have trouble tonguing them, my teacher gave me a great exercise
First, play the run slurred.
Then, play each note of it in repeated semiquavers.
Then play it as written.
This is a very effective way to make sure your tongue and air are coordinated.

Thanks! Ummm...what are semiquavers?

i believe a semiquaver is half a quaver.

wait i dont know about that.. its confusing when you said the question... its like a mental block...i mean ive done musicianship and this is a simple question...

Did you know that often i classical music written around Mozarts time you swing the notes, not playing them entirely even? Well, I`ve played both conzertos (yes, there are two written for Stadler) and I think you shouldn`t be as bothered by making it even as making it sound alright.

Semiquavers= 16th notes.

ONE concerto. Not 2. It might have been the quintet that was also written for Stadler. I`m not sure. He also wrote the Kegelstat Trio for Clarinet, Viola and piano.
I don`t think you should swing it.

It depends for what reason you are playing the concerto. If you are performing it, you may "swing" the notes. Just let the conductor know that you heard that in Mozart`s day they "swung" the notes...haha. If you are playing it for an audition, you probably want to play them evenly, just to show your talent. If you`re playing it for pleasure, heck, play it any way you`d like. As for getting the runs even and perfect, just practice. I`m self-taught and also a high school sophomore, but I know a lot more than most people from observing so much of everything. Sometimes your fingers have a tendencies to move faster in some places in the runs than others. Sort of like a twitch. But like whoever said earlier, just slow them down and work up to 16th notes. I remember playing it in my audition for my city`s youth orchestra, and looking at all the 16th note runs I`d circled with "PRACTICE THIS" written beside it, and laughing because I`d practiced it so much and absolutely gotten it down perfectly. So just practice. It`ll come naturally, and it`ll be fun. I really hate listening to Mozart because he`s so monotonous, but he sure is a *heck* of a lot of fun to play. Good luck!

It really helps to buy a recording.
I recommend listening to Sabine Meyer.
It is importatant to play it accurately but not to get too caught up with playing what is written on the page. `
P.S.
If you think the first movement has hard runs, try the rondo.

I`ve never liked the Sabine Meyer recording of the Mozart concerto. She is a fantastic clarinettist, but that particular recording really sucks.

Why do you say that?
Who do you think does a better job?

Does anyone have a pdf file of this? I`d really like to try!

Oh yah, just for reference, if I`m not mistaken. The UK and USA use different terms for notes. The Semibreve is equivilent to a Whole Note, A minim is the same as a Half Note, the Croctchet is equal to a quarter note, the quaver is similar to that of a quarter note and a semiquaver is a sixteenth note. I`m not sure how 32nd and 64th etc. notes go though.

There are a number of things that bug me about the Sabine Meyer recording, but the main thing is that it sounds like she is just showing off how fast she can play the notes, without bothering with expressiveness or anything like that. The third movement especially sounds rushed. She also does a lot of unmusical things like rushing into her semiquaver runs instead of lingering a little on the first note like any good student knows to do. It`s all the little things like that that make it a bad performance.
I`m not sure of a better recording, I have heard better, but when they play them on my radio I always forget who the soloist is.

I`m preparing the Mozart concerto for a CIM audition right now and I have found that the recording by Franklin Cohen is the the most accurate out of every one (of the many) I`ve heard. He plays everything exactly how Mozart intended and I believe that what Mozart intended is exactly what is on the page. Mozart was a genius and there can be no improvement on his works. Every work is perfect and especially this concerto. In my opinion, you are doing wrong by Mozart if you do not play exactly what`s on the page. There is no room for interpretation. As for 16th note runs, my teacher gave me an excellent excersize for making them as even as they ARE supposed to be. Start at the beginning of the run and play the whole thing through with as many practice rhythms as you can think of, gradually increasing the tempo. This will fix all of the undesirable "twitches" in your fingers (which are caused by varying degrees of difficulty in the intervals) and create a "notey" feel throughout the run. You will also sound as if you are attacking the run from above it, giving a listener a sense of mastery from your playing. Practice rhythms include: dotted eighth, sixteenth; dotted eighth, sixteenth; etc. then reverse it and after that, put the corresponding rhythms back to back. Dotted eighth, sixteenth, sixteenth, dotted eighth etc. eighth; Triplet figures are particularly helpful for some.
Anyone with tips for college auditions, I would appreciate a reply.