Editing Clarinet (section)

=== Classical ===
{{main|Clarinet concerto|Clarinet sonata}}

The clarinet evolved later than other orchestral woodwind instruments, leaving solo repertoire from the [[Classical music era|Classical]] period onward, but few works from the [[Baroque music|Baroque]] era.{{sfn|Rees-Davies|1995}} Examples of the first uses of clarinets include [[Antonio Vivaldi|Vivaldi]]'s 1716 oratorio ''[[Juditha triumphans]]'' with two C clarinets,{{sfn|Rice|1992b|pp=81&ndash;82}} and [[Handel]]'s 1740 ''Ouverture'' for two clarinets and horn.{{sfn|Lawson|2009|pp=75&ndash;77}} In the 1750s, clarinets were introduced in the orchestra of La Pouplinière in Paris.{{sfn|Ellsworth|2022}} [[Johann Stamitz]] composed the first known concerto for B{{flat}} clarinet for the principal clarinetist of this orchestra.{{sfn|Rice|2022}} [[Johann Melchior Molter]] wrote six clarinet concertos for clarinet in D, the first dated to around 1742.{{sfn|Rice|2022}}

Clarinets appeared in the [[Mannheim orchestra]] under Stamitz and in other orchestras from 1758,{{sfn|Rice|2022}} but were not commonly used before the 19th century.{{sfn|Ellsworth|2022}} ''[[Harmonie]]'' wind ensembles including clarinets were common from the mid-18th century.{{sfn|Rice|2022}} Classical composers of solo or duo concertos for this instrument included [[Karl Stamitz]] and [[František Xaver Pokorný]].{{sfn|Rees-Davies|1995}} The first [[clarinet sonata]] was written in 1770 by the Neapolitan composer Gregorio Sciroli.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://clarinet.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Thrasher-Italy.pdf|last=Thraser|first=Michael|work=ClarinetFest|date=2006|title=The clarinetist-composers of nineteenth-century Italy: an examination of style, repertoire and pedagogy}}</ref> 
[[File:Mozart Quintett Bassettklarinette Larghetto.ogg|thumb|Larghetto from the Mozart Quintet; Vlad Weverbergh on a replica of the Stadler clarinet]]
[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] first used the clarinet in 1771 in his Divertimento K. 113 and later in the ''[[Paris Symphony]]'' of 1778.{{sfn|Candé|1983|p=119}} From ''[[Idomeneo]]'' onward, the clarinet appeared in all his operas, as well as in his symphonies and [[Piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|piano concerto]]s.{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=75}} His chamber works for clarinet include the ''[[Gran Partita]]'', the [[Clarinet Quintet (Mozart)|Clarinet Quintet]], and the [[Kegelstatt Trio]]. The latter two works were written for his friend, virtuoso [[Anton Stadler]], as was his [[Clarinet Concerto (Mozart)|Clarinet Concerto]].{{sfn|Lott|2022}} [[Beethoven]]'s chamber music highlights the instrument, particularly in the Quintet Op. 16, the Septet Op. 20 and Trio Op. 38.{{sfn|Rees-Davies|1995}}

While the Classical period often used the clarinet, the [[Romantic era]] incorporated it more as an integral part of the orchestra.{{sfn|Rushton|2022}} The clarinet became a staple, with composers such as [[Schubert]], [[Mendelssohn]], [[Berlioz]], [[Dvořák]], [[Smetana]], [[Brahms]], [[Tchaikovsky]], and [[Rimsky-Korsakov]] writing prominent clarinet passages in their orchestral works.{{sfn|Ellsworth|2022}} In Romantic opera orchestration, the clarinet frequently takes on expressive, lyrical roles.{{sfn|Rushton|2022}} The clarinet section expanded to three or more players, with some performing on auxiliary instruments such as the [[bass clarinet]].{{sfn|Rushton|2022}} Certain operas, such as Strauss's ''[[Elektra (opera)|Elektra]]'', require up to eight players.{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=225}}

Chamber music featuring the clarinet became increasingly diverse. The instrument appears in the works of [[Franz Schubert]] ([[Octet (Schubert)|Octet]]), [[Felix Mendelssohn]] (sonata with piano), [[Robert Schumann]] (''Phantasiestücke'' for clarinet and piano, ''[[Märchenerzählungen (Schumann)|Märchenerzählungen]]'' with piano and viola), and [[Johannes Brahms]] (two sonatas, the Trio with cello and piano and the [[Clarinet Quintet (Brahms)|Clarinet Quintet]] for Clarinet in A and [[string quartet]]).{{sfn|Rees-Davies|1995}} [[Carl Maria von Weber]] wrote several major works for the clarinet, including the [[Clarinet Concerto No. 1 (Weber)|Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor]], the [[Clarinet Concerto No. 2 (Weber)|Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E flat major]], and the Grand Duo Concertant for clarinet and piano.{{sfn|Rice|2010|pp=172&ndash;174, 189}} However, from 1830 until 1900 "no major composer wrote a clarinet concerto, and the few concertos written for the instrument in this time period have not found a secure place in the repertoire".{{sfn|Schneider|2022}}

The clarinet is used frequently in [[20th-century classical music|20th-]] and [[21st-century classical music]]. It embodies the cat in ''[[Peter and the Wolf]]'' by [[Sergei Prokofiev]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/552/peter-and-the-wolf#|publisher=Los Angeles Philharmonic|last=Howard|first=Orrin|title=Peter and the Wolf|accessdate=12 April 2025}}</ref> and the symphonies of [[Shostakovich]] "provide a veritable compendium of writing for all members of the orchestral clarinet family; for him the instruments provided a toolkit for the expression of the deepest tragedy as well as the sharpest satire".{{sfn|Ellsworth|2022}} Significant pieces for unaccompanied clarinet include ''Three Pieces'' (1919) by [[Igor Stravinsky]]{{sfn|Rees-Davies|1995}} and "L'abîme des oiseaux" from the ''[[Quatuor pour la fin du temps]]'' (1941) by [[Olivier Messiaen]].{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=222}} Concertos with orchestral accompaniment from this period include those by [[Carl Nielsen]] and [[Aaron Copland]].{{sfn|Rees-Davies|1995}} Sonatas were composed by [[Felix Draeseke]], [[Max Reger]], [[Arnold Bax]], [[John Ireland (composer)|John Ireland]], [[Francis Poulenc]], [[Leonard Bernstein]], and [[Paul Hindemith]].{{sfn|Rees-Davies|1995}} Notable chamber works include ''Four Pieces'' by [[Alban Berg]], ''Contrastes'' with violin and piano by [[Béla Bartók]], ''[[The Soldier's Tale]]'' by Stravinsky, and the Suite for clarinet, violin and piano by [[Darius Milhaud]].{{sfn|Rees-Davies|1995}}