Top 5 clarinet concertos

If you’re a clarinetist then, well, congratulations! You've chosen one of the the most versatile and beautiful instruments in the orchestra (or wind band, jazz band, chamber group—it certainly gets around). It is also an instrument with a boatload of great repertoire, from classical through to jazz and klezmer. At the pinnacle of this repertoire lies the concerto, solo works with orchestra designed to highlight the instrument’s best characteristics and the technical abilities of their players. The clarinet has some great ones to choose from—here are our best five. Continue reading...

A Very Quick Guide to . . . The Clarinet

What’s it all about?

The clarinet, the most versatile and perhaps most popular of all wind instruments.

When did it all start?

The modern clarinet is a direct descendant of the old chalumeau, a popular instrument back in the middle ages and Renaissance – basically a type of recorder, but with a reed.

In about 1700 German instrument maker Johann Christoph Denner (or possibly one of his sons – the details are fuzzy) designed a new version of the chalumeau adding a single key to the instrument to expand its range – effectively, the first clarinet. Continue reading...