Clarinet Concertino in E‑Flat Major

Weber’s personal life was often as colourful as his groundbreaking operas. In 1804 he nearly died after drinking engraving acid that had been left in a wine bottle by his father. Six years later, he and his father were arrested and escorted to Württemberg’s border, forbidden ever to return after his father had used the ruling duke’s private funds to pay off his own debts. It was while he was on tour in Mannheim the following year (1811) that Weber met clarinettist Heinrich Bärmann (1784-1847), an ex-army bandsman who had survived capture and incarceration following the Battle of Jena in 1806. Combining a typically German tonal richness with French agility and lightness, Bärmann’s playing inspired Weber to compose a C minor concertino for him in just three days (two full-scale concertos and a quintet followed). Opening with a slow, haunting introduction in C minor, a change of tempo and key to the relative major (E-flat) announces the main theme. This inspires a set of four highly contrasted variations, culminating in a whirlwind con fuoco coda.