Konzertstücke Opus 113 und 114 – Mendelssohn

Favourite dish in exchange for favourite music – this perfectly summarizes the genesis of the Konzertstücke. When the clarinettist Heinrich Joseph Baermann and his son Carl, who also played the basset horn, stopped to pay a visit to Felix MendelssohnBartholdy in 1832, they came to a most curious agreement: they promised their composer friend a generous portion of “Dampfnudeln” (steamed dumplings) and “Rahmstrudel” (sweet-cheese strudel) that Mendelssohn was mad about, if he were to write a piecefor them which they could use on their concert tours. The Konzertstück in f minor that originated in this fashion was followed shortly afterwards by a second one in d minor. Both are extremely effective works which wonderfully bring out the uniquesound and performance technique of the two instruments from the clarinet family.