Clarinet Concerto in A — 2nd movement (Adagio)

W. A. MozartK. 622

Key

D

Time

3/4

Tempo

♩=50

AO focus

AO3

Form

Adagio — central slow movement. Clarinet sings a long-breathed melody over hushed strings. Mozart wrote it for the basset clarinet (an extended-range instrument) but it's now nearly always played on the standard A-clarinet.

Teaching points

• Breath control — the opening phrase spans eight bars; the clarinet must shape it as one arc
• Rubato vs in-time — the strings stay metronomic while the soloist breathes — coach this independence
• AO3: the most-borrowed slow movement in concert film history (Out of Africa, etc.) — discuss why