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One Classical period composer who has often been ignored as a writer for clarinet is the Austrian-born Ignaz Joseph Pleyel (1757-1831). A pioneer in the business of music publishing and manufacturing, Pleyel's compositions attained immense popularity during his lifetime. As early as 1784, Mozart wrote to his father:

I must tell you that some quartets have just appeared, composed by a certain Pleyel, a pupil of Joseph Haydn. If you do not know them, do try and get hold of them; you will find them worth the trouble.

One of the great difficulties in considering Pleyel's compositional output relates to the many different formats in which his works appeared. As a publisher in addition to being a composer, Pleyel worked to make his music available to as many performers as possible. These efforts resulted in many hundreds of arrangements and adaptations of "original" works. E. L. Gerber, writing in the early 19th century, remarked: "His works appear in fifteen different numbers and at the same time, through arrangements, in fifteen different titles and shapes." Rita Benton, author of the Pleyel thematic catalogue, explains further:

The proliferation of printed and manuscript copies contributes to the confusion that is further complicated by the large number of contemporary arrangements, many not indicated as such. The composer himself adds to this confusion by reworking movements from earlier pieces into new settings that because of their context or altered development, must sometimes be treated as new compositions. The problem is further complicated by the custom, not uncommon in Pleyel's time, of issuing the same work with different titles and opus number.

In the Pleyel thematic catalogue, Benton suggests four works that may have been originally for clarinet: the Concerto in C Major, Ben. 106 ; the Nocturne in C Major, Ben. 202.5; the Serenade in E-Flat Major, Ben. 219; and the Quartet in E-Flat Major, Ben. 395. The purpose of this study is to establish a historical context for Pleyel's clarinet music, to analyze these works, and to provide a selective bibliography of the many arrangements for clarinet of Pleyel's music.

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Letter from Mozart to his father dated April 2, 1784.
E. L. Gerber, A'eues Historisch-Biographisches Lexicon der Tonkiinstker (Leipzig, 1812-1814), Pt. 3, col. 375.
Rita Benton, Ignace Pleyel: A Thematic Catalogue of his Compositions (New York: Pendragon, 1977), viii.
All ûBení numbers refer to Rita Benton, Ignace Pleyel: A Thematic Catalogue of his Compositions (New York: Pendragon, 1977).

 

 

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