The first movement of Mozart's second clarinet quintet-Mozart's Sonata Allegro For Clarinet And String Quartet is certainly an exciting addition to the Clarinet repertoire. The first movement of Mozart's projected Second Clarinet Quintet the 'fragment' that is the basis of this work had been known about for many years and was always considered a trial run for the great K581; however recent dating has shown the two pages of manuscript date from after the Clarinet Quintet.The distinguished Mozart scholar Timothy Jones has proved this to be the beginning of a response to the popularity of K581. It was only as a result of his early death that the workremained incomplete. Jones has completed the work using his deep knowledge of late Mozart and we have now a very important new addition to the Clarinet Quintet repertoire.

Ever since Mozart encountered the Clarinet in Mannheim in 1778 he loved the instrument?s warm and expressive tone. His friendship with Anton Stadler the clarinetist in the Royal-Imperial Court Orchestra in Vienna prompted him to compose not only the Clarinet Concerto (K. 622) but also this ?Quintet of Quintets? which was written two years before his death. Like almost all his works for the Clarinet this Quintet wasprobably intended originally for the Basset Clarinet. However it survives only in two posthumous prints both of which call for a standard Clarinet. These prints form the basis of our edition. As an added bonus the appendixcontains a fragmentary Allegro in Bb major for the same combination of instruments.