Franz Krommer: Concerto for Two Clarinets Op. 35 & Concertino Op. 38

Franz Krommer has been rather neglected by musicological research. It was not until 1997 that the Czech musicologist Karel Padrta presented a detailed catalog of his works with an introductory biographical section, which in many respects was the first to contain research findings that went beyond what had been handed down from the 19th century. In his oeuvre, Krommer focused entirely on instrumental music. Krommer’s first concerto for two clarinets and orchestra in E-flat major, op. 35 (Padrta III: 3) seems to have been very popular. The reviewer of a performance of the concerto in Breslau in the winter of 1803 / 04 found in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung: “a fine concerto” and ended his review with the exclamation: “If only Mr. Krommer provided us with more such concertos!” The special feature of the Concertino op. 38 lies in the instrumentation: it is written for flute, oboe, violin as solo instruments and horns, violas and basses in orchestral tutti. Another difference to the concerto can be seen in the construction of those movements of the concertino that can be compared most closely to those of a concerto; these are the corner movements and the middle movement. They are much more loosely structured and, even if they contain virtuoso passages, serve the need for entertainment rather than the development of the instrumental skills of the performers.