…Von den drei Konzerten ist das Konzert in F-Moll sicherlich das dramatischste. In musikalischer und technischer Hinsicht ist es auch das schwierigste. Das Lob in der Allgemeinen musikalischen Zeitung von 1818 war überschwänglich:
"Hr. C, erster Kammermusicus und Klarinettist des Königs von Schweden, hat sich seit einigen Jahren durch seine Compositionen für sein Instrument nicht nur in Deutschland, sondern überall, wo man dasselbe warhaft künstlerisch behandelt und zugleich gehaltvolle Instrumentalcompositionen liebt, einen ausgezeichneten Ruf erworben; und alle, die Hrn. C. selbst gehört haben, ruhmen ihn auch als einen der vorzüglichsten Virtuosen.

Over time this recording becomes progressively more and more alive and beautiful. In my opinion, this recording by Hoeprich is a document -which at the time was unique and original- of his deep knowledge of Mozart's music.

Mozart's Serenade for winds in B flat, K.361/370a, commonly known as the Gran Partita, is one of the earliest masterpieces written for wind ensemble. The composer had composed other works for similar ensembles, but the Gran Partita stands apart because of its size (13 instruments), its length (seven movements lasting about 50 minutes), and most of all, because of the nobility, eloquence, and wit of the music.

Unquestionably, the clarinet quintets of Mozart and Brahms have earned time-honored and well-deserved places in the repertoire of clarinetists worldwide. In the informative and well-written annotations by Eric Hoeprich, we read that “they embody the maturity, depth, experience, and possibly even a premonition of an otherworldliness soon to be experienced firsthand.”

For more than four decades now, Eric Hoeprich has specialized in performing on the historical clarinet. His expertise as a musician, scholar and instrument maker allows for a unique approach to the repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries. Founding member and principal clarinet of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Hoeprich has performed frequently as a soloist with the orchestra, with his recording of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto for Glossa, under the direction of Frans Brüggen (2001), being a major milestone. With his ensembles Nachtmusique and Stadler Trio he has also made frequent recordings for Glossa, while his collaborations with the London Haydn Quartet have yielded another handful of fine albums for the label, the latest of which, published just a few months ago in 2020, contains two Weber Clarinet Quintets and is a perfect companion for the current release.

The three concerti on this disk are kind of ‘in between’. Bernard Crusell is not an unknown, many of his compositions having been recorded over the past decades, notably his clarinet concerti. However, music directors and concert managements usually prefer to schedule Mozart or Weber for the purpose of filling up the Hall. ‘Names’ are for public in general of overriding importance. Thus concert goers didn’t and still don’t get much chance to familiarize with Crusell.

One year after the 200th anniversary of Mozart’s death, American musicologist Pamela Poulin was rummaging through the archives of the Latvian Academic Library in Riga and came upon announcements and programs for three concerts given in Riga in 1794 by Mozart’s friend, fellow Freemason, and clarinet virtuoso Anton Stadler. The programs also included an engraving of what Stadler termed an Inventions Klarinette. This led to the discovery of several basset clarinets and basset horns in various European collections. These instruments are fashioned from boxwood with brass keys and are virtually identical to that shown in the engraving on the concert program.