Clarinet Concerto No. 2 (Weber) - Second Movement

Second Movement

The 2nd movement, by stark contrast in G minor, is reflective of Weber's many operas. With its operatic phrasing, this movement really exhibits the rich tone of the clarinet. The clarinet melody has very expressive dynamics, often going from fortissmo to piano in the space of one bar. After the initial statement of the melody, the work moves into an orchestral section in A major which acts as a sort of extended dominant to D minor when the clarinet enters again. It is in the C minor section when we begin to see short note values which adds to a very operatic style. Once again the orchestra goes into a section in G major, which exactly imitates the previous section in G major. Suddenly the clarinet enters in F major with a very virtuosic scale followed by numerous runs. In this F major section there is some very large leaps, one being 3 octaves and a tone at bar 56. The work shifts back to G minor with a recitative, once again in the operatic style. This is taken very freely with the clarinet and orchestra taking turns in playing. After the recitative, the original melody in A minor is repeated and followed by a rather short cadenza before the work finishes with a very long concert G from the clarinet.