Anton Stadler
Encyclopedia
Anton Stadler was an Austria
n clarinet
and basset horn player for whom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
wrote both his Quintet for Clarinet and Strings and Clarinet Concerto
.
He was reputed to be able to produce a beautiful tone, with exceptional mastery of the low register of the basset clarinet
and distinctive basset horn playing. A contemporaraneous Viennese critic, referring to Stadler, wrote, “I would not have thought that a clarinet could imitate the human voice so deceptively as you imitate it. Your instrument is so soft, so delicate in tone that no-one who has a heart can resist it." A noted virtuoso
, he played second clarinet to his younger brother Johann Nepomuk Stadler
(1755-1804) in the Vienna Court Orchestra
. It was possibly this specialism in second clarinet along with the basset horn that led to his collaboration with Theodor Lotz (1748–1792), a clarinet maker. His idea was to add an extension to his B-flat and A clarinets – in the same vein as the basset horn – an extra major third to a low C. It was for this extended clarinet (now known as the basset clarinet
but initially called a bass clarinet in the days before the modern bass
had been invented) that the Clarinet Concerto
and possibly the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings
were written. A concerto in D major for basset clarinet was written for Stadler by Franz Xaver Süssmayr
, which remains as two incomplete manuscripts. It is now thought that the clarinet concerti by Eybler and Kozeluch were also written for Anton Stadler. During the 1790s Stadler, who owing to financial problems in 1796 lost his job in the court orchestra and toured northern Europe, performing concerts on the basset horn. Shortly after 1800 he left his wife and family and moved to the Landstraße
where he lived with his mistress, a certain Friederika Kebel. He died of emaciation and was buried on 17 June 1812 on the old Catholic cemetery in Matzleinsdorf. Contrary to wide-spread information in the literature (Albert R. Rice, Grass and Demus, et al.) Stadler's son Anton was not a basset horn player. He played the "Passetl", which in Vienna describes a small stringed bass.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
and basset horn player for whom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
wrote both his Quintet for Clarinet and Strings and Clarinet Concerto
Clarinet Concerto (Mozart)
Mozart's Clarinet concerto in A major, K. 622 was written in 1791 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler.It consists of the usual three movements, in a fast–slow–fast form:# Allegro# Adagio# Rondo: Allegro...
.
He was reputed to be able to produce a beautiful tone, with exceptional mastery of the low register of the basset clarinet
Basset clarinet
The basset clarinet is a clarinet, similar to the usual soprano clarinet but longer and with additional keys to enable playing several additional lower notes...
and distinctive basset horn playing. A contemporaraneous Viennese critic, referring to Stadler, wrote, “I would not have thought that a clarinet could imitate the human voice so deceptively as you imitate it. Your instrument is so soft, so delicate in tone that no-one who has a heart can resist it." A noted virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
, he played second clarinet to his younger brother Johann Nepomuk Stadler
Johann Stadler
Johann Nepomuk Stadler was an Austrian clarinet and basset horn player and younger brother of the clarinet player Anton Stadler....
(1755-1804) in the Vienna Court Orchestra
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
. It was possibly this specialism in second clarinet along with the basset horn that led to his collaboration with Theodor Lotz (1748–1792), a clarinet maker. His idea was to add an extension to his B-flat and A clarinets – in the same vein as the basset horn – an extra major third to a low C. It was for this extended clarinet (now known as the basset clarinet
Basset clarinet
The basset clarinet is a clarinet, similar to the usual soprano clarinet but longer and with additional keys to enable playing several additional lower notes...
but initially called a bass clarinet in the days before the modern bass
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
had been invented) that the Clarinet Concerto
Clarinet Concerto (Mozart)
Mozart's Clarinet concerto in A major, K. 622 was written in 1791 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler.It consists of the usual three movements, in a fast–slow–fast form:# Allegro# Adagio# Rondo: Allegro...
and possibly the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings
Clarinet Quintet (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, K. 581, was written in 1789 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler. A clarinet quintet is a work for one clarinet and a string quartet . Although originally written for basset clarinet, it is almost always played on a clarinet in A or B-flat...
were written. A concerto in D major for basset clarinet was written for Stadler by Franz Xaver Süssmayr
Franz Xaver Süssmayr
Franz Xaver Süssmayr was an Austrian composer, now famous for his completion of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem.-Early life:...
, which remains as two incomplete manuscripts. It is now thought that the clarinet concerti by Eybler and Kozeluch were also written for Anton Stadler. During the 1790s Stadler, who owing to financial problems in 1796 lost his job in the court orchestra and toured northern Europe, performing concerts on the basset horn. Shortly after 1800 he left his wife and family and moved to the Landstraße
Landstraße
Landstraße is the 3rd municipal District of Vienna, Austria] . It is near the center of Vienna and was established in the 19th century. Landstraße is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and residential homes. It has inhabitants in an area of 7.42 km². It has existed since...
where he lived with his mistress, a certain Friederika Kebel. He died of emaciation and was buried on 17 June 1812 on the old Catholic cemetery in Matzleinsdorf. Contrary to wide-spread information in the literature (Albert R. Rice, Grass and Demus, et al.) Stadler's son Anton was not a basset horn player. He played the "Passetl", which in Vienna describes a small stringed bass.