Offers unique perspectives on the clarinet's historical role in various styles, genres, and ensembles, from jazz and ethnic traditions to classical chamber music, concertos, opera, and symphony orchestras. With essays written by leading performer-scholars, The Clarinet offers unique perspectives on the clarinet's historical role in various styles, genres, and ensembles. Beginning with a chapter on clarinet iconography, the book continues with an overview of the instrument's early history, chapters on the clarinet in the opera orchestra and the traditional symphony orchestra, and examinations of important genres involving the clarinet (the concerto and the clarinet quintet). Also included are chapters on leading twentieth-century clarinetists, the instrument's use in the historically informed performance (HIP) movement, and an expansive look at the clarinet's use in ethnic traditions and early jazz. The emphasis on topics not covered elsewhere makes this book an important contribution to the clarinet literature. Written in an accessible style, this volume engages a wide range of readers, from professional musicians to clarinet aficionados and music lovers with less specialized knowledge. Contributors to this volume include Jane Ellsworth, Eric Hoeprich, Albert R. Rice, Ingrid Pearson, Julian Rushton, David Schneider, Marie Sumner Lott, Colin Lawson, and S. Frederick Starr.

Marie Sumner Lott examines the music available to musical consumers in the nineteenth century, and what that music tells us about their tastes, priorities, and activities. Her social history of chamber music performance places the works of canonic composers such as Schubert, Brahms, and Dvorák in relation to lesser-known but influential peers. The book explores the dynamic relationships among the active agents involved in the creation of Romantic music and shows how each influenced the others' choices in a rich, collaborative environment. In addition to documenting the ways companies acquired and marketed sheet music, Sumner Lott reveals how the publication and performance of chamber music differed from that of ephemeral piano and song genres or more monumental orchestral and operatic works. Several distinct niche markets existed within the audience for chamber music, and composers created new musical works for their use and enjoyment. Insightful and groundbreaking, The Social Worlds of Nineteenth-Century Chamber Music revises prevailing views of middle-class influence on nineteenth-century musical style and presents new methods for interpreting the meanings of musical works for musicians both past and present.