Joseph Eybler: A Forgotten Viennese Master Composer and a History, Analysis, and Performing Edition of the Concerto for Clarinet in B-Flat Major

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Joseph Leopold Eybler (1765-1846) is a largely forgotten Viennese master composer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in B-flat Major dates from 1798 and is a fine yet obscure masterwork worthy of study and performance. Presently, the concerto is not part of the standard clarinet repertory, and this fact substantiates a significant loss. The Autograph Manuscript is housed at the Wienbibliothek im Rathaus (City Library of Vienna) in Vienna, Austria, and the concerto was published by Eulenburg Zürich (now Edition Kunzelmann) in 1976 in two editions: orchestral score (Nr. 10132), and an arrangement for clarinet and piano (GM 54). The world premiere recording was presented by Dieter Klöcker (1936-2011) in 1990. Eduard Brunner (1939-2017) released a recoding in 1993, and Peter Rabl (b. 1958) released a recording in 2001.

Joseph Eybler: A Forgotten Viennese Master Composer and a History, Analysis, and Performing Edition of the Concerto for Clarinet in B-flat Major consists of the following components: 1) the most comprehensive English language biography of Eybler to date; 2) an overview of his compositional output; 3) theoretical analysis of the three movements of the concerto; and 4) an authoritative modern performing edition of the solo part of the concerto developed from an authorized facsimile of the Autograph Manuscript and other sources, including but not limited to modern and period performance-practice treatises and methods. The performing edition also corrects wrong notes that appear in the published versions of the solo part. Additionally, the study includes the composer’s discography, music in print, and compositional output as reported by Schmidt and Herrmann.

To date, no other study, intensive or otherwise, exists to illuminate Eybler’s concerto. The analysis, performing edition, and historical insight into this forgotten master’s life, style, and temperament serve to aid performers in interpretations of the concerto. Because Eybler is largely unknown to clarinetists, this study ultimately aims to facilitate the concerto’s rightful and eventual inclusion into the standard clarinet repertory.