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Anton Paul Stadler (28 June 1753, in Bruck an der Leitha – 15 June 1812, in Vienna) was an clarinet and basset horn player for whom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote, amongst others, both his Clarinet Quintet (K 581) and Clarinet Concerto (K 622). Stadler's name is inextricably linked to Mozart's compositions for these two instruments.
A concert on 21 March 1773 at the Kärntnertortheater, of which a programme survived, appears to mark the first public appearance of the two brothers in Vienna; further recorded appearances include a concert on 19 December 1775 and two concerts (12 and 14 March 1780) in which they took part in a concerto for five winds by Joseph Starzer. Pamela Poulin writes:
Until 1782 Anton and Johann held various positions. According to the open account books of the imperial court of 1779 they were hired by the court on a per-service basis. A concert programme of 12 March identifies the brothers as being in the service of Count Carl of Palm. As of October 1780 Anton was employed by the Piaristen religious order of Maria Treu as a 'manorial musician'. In 1781 Anton was in the service of count Dimitri Galizin. In the same year Kaiser Joseph II designated their services as 'indispensable'.
The earliest documented evidence of Mozart's connection with Stadler dates from a year or two later. The clarinetist's playing evoked the following response in Johann Friedrich Schink's Litterarische Fragmente:
My thanks to you, brave virtuoso! I have never heard the like of what you contrived with your instrument. Never should I have thought that a clarinet could be capable of imitating the human voice as it was imitated by you. Indeed, your instrument has so soft and lovely a tone that no one can resist it – and I have one, dear Virtuoso; let me thank you. I heard music for wind instruments today, too, by Herr Mozart, in four movements, viz. four horns, two oboes, two bassoons, two clarinets, two basset horns, a double bass, and at each instrument sat a master – oh, what a glorious effect it made – glorious and great, excellent and sublime!Schink here clearly refers to a performance of Mozart's Serenade for thirteen instruments K 361/370a, which probably formed part of Stadler's benefit concert at the National Court Theatre advertised in the Wienerblättchen of 22 March 1784: "Herr Stadler senior, in present service of His Majesty the Emperor, will hold a musical concert for his own benefit, at which will be given, among other well chosen pieces, a great wind piece of a very special kind composed by Herr Mozart." Barely more than a week after this first documented performance came the première of Mozart's Piano Quintet K 452 on 1 April, which included parts for both composer and clarinettist.
The arrival in Vienna of the Bohemian players Anton David and Vincent Springer proved an important catalyst for Mozart's basset horn writing. They had already generated considerable publicity as early as 1782, when their performance at Ludwigslust 'on largely unknown instruments which they call basset horns' was cited by C.F. Cramer the following year. Mozart's espousal of the basset horn really began in earnest in late 1783 when he produced over a period of two years thirteen works for that instrument:
Mozart's Kegelstatt Trio was written for the pianist Francesca von Jacquin and must have been first played at the family house, with the participation of Stadler and the composer himself. It undoubtedly reflects the favourite techniques and idioms of each of the players, including Stadler's proficiency in the chalumeau register, as illustrated by accompaniment figuration and melodic figures including that part of the compass.
Mozart's opera La clemenza di Tito (K 621) was first heard in Prague on 6 September 1791. Although the orchestra was that of the Estates Theatre, Stadler travelled to Prague with Mozart, who included two arias with major solos for him: Sesto's "Parto, parto", which has a large basset clarinet solo, and Vitellia's "Non più di fiori", which has a basset horn solo of equal prominence.
Although the eloquence of Mozart's clarinet writing for Stadler testifies to a remarkable musical relationship, surviving evidence of their personal friendship remains fragmentary. In any case, Mozart's nickname for the clarinettist reveals a shared sense of humour; 'Notschibinitschibi' is a combination of two words – 'Notschibi' meaning a poor booby or miser and 'Nitschibi' a young man of follies. Still, much evidence remains to show that Stadler was at best irresponsible, and at worst, conniving. Constanze Mozart's sister, Sophie Haibel, recounted to Georg Nikolaus von Nissen how Stadler stole from Mozart, and a letter from Constanze to the publisher Johann André suggests that she and others held no high opinion of him. Furthermore, although Theodor Lotz made Stadler's basset clarinets (see below), Stadler later attributed their invention to himself, taking advantage of Lotz's premature death in 1792, only six months after Mozart's. Stadler never paid for the instruments, nor for K 622, which Nissen claims was commissioned from Mozart. It is distressing to see to what extent Mozart involved Stadler in his personal life and finances, considering how often the composer himself was in debt.
In the end, though, there can be no doubt that Stadler's character struck a chord deep in Mozart, who was very fond of him. For this we must be grateful: Mozart's close friendship with Stadler and Lotz have given clarinettists some of the most sublime music imaginable.
Herr Stadler the elder, in the service of his majesty the Kaiser, will play a concerto on the Bass-Klarinet and a variation on the Bass-Klarinet, an instrument of new invention and manufacture of the court instrument maker Theodor Loz sic; this instrument has two more tones than the normal clarinet.Stadler's instrument is now known as a basset clarinet, a term coined by Jiři Kratochvil to reflect its kinship with the basset horn and to avoid confusion with the bass clarinet, whose orchestral career developed only during the 19th century. As for the variations advertised in Stadler's 1788 programme, a number of works have so far been identified, including Variations on different favourite themes and ten variations on You must not take amiss with me. A possible candidate for the other clarinet work might be another of Stadler's compositions, or perhaps a B-flat major Concerto attributed to Joseph Michl.
The "two more tones than the normal clarinet the" mentioned in the concert programme can, however, not easily be unambiguously identified. The Lotz basset clarinet must be associated with Mozart's Quintet fragment in B-flat K 516c, 93 bars of a movement which in 1828 Nissen believed to have been originally complete. Basset notes occur only from bar 55, d then occurring 7 times, occasioning notation in the bass clef an octave below pitch, as in Mozart's basset horn writing. Similarly, the second clarinet part of Ferrando's aria 'Ah lo veggio' from Così fan tutte descends to d on a total of 7 occasions. Mozart's avoidance of the tonic c has led some writers to assume that d and e-flat were the extra notes on Lotz's instrument, but the obvious parallel with the basset horn makes c and d much more likely: Robert D. Levin reconstructed K 516c and believes that the missing portion must have contained several examples of low c.R.D. Levin, 'Das Klarinettenquintett B-Dur, KV Anh. 91/516c; ein Ergänzungsversuch', Mozart-Jahrbuch 1968–70, p. 320.
It was for this extended clarinet that the Clarinet Concerto and possibly the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings were written. A concerto in D major for basset clarinet was written for Stadler by Franz Xaver Süssmayr, which remains as two incomplete manuscripts. It is now thought that the clarinet concerti by Joseph Leopold Eybler and Leopold Kozeluch were also written for Anton Stadler.
By 1796 Stadler had returned to Vienna, taking up his post alongside his brother, and starting composing works for basset horn and clarinet, a number of which were published. In 1798 the Viennese composer Joseph Leopold Eybler complete a clarinet concerto, very probably for Anton Stadler, a fine three-movement work with a full orchestra complete with Harmonie (including clarinets), trumpets and timpani, in which the tutti sections demonstrate Eybler's fine compositional technique. In the concerto manuscript, two versions of the solo part are written on separate staves: they vary in their technical demands and it seems a player may have found the upper line too difficult (most of the passage work lies in the extreme high register, up to a3) and persuaded the composer to make a simplified version.
Stadler was invited by a Hungarian count, Georg Festitics, to help organize a school of music in Keszthely near the Lake Balaton. The result, Stadler's 50-page Musick Plan of 1800, represents a thoughtful and organized side of Stadler one might not have suspected to exist (the original is preserved in the National Hungarian Library in Budapest). The document, based on a set of questions provided by the count, recommends a rigorous education, combining performance, music theory and composition with schooling in a broad range of subjects. Examples of Stadler's priorities include study of the violin, singing and piano (also requiring students to learn to tune a piano), a 'general education' (because otherwise one becomes a 'half thing'), as well as an understanding of the psychology of performance. He also has wise words on how to behave in the profession, suggesting instrumentalists 'not to drown out singers, not hold back or press forward in tempo, not publicly censure another's chance mistake, nor ridicule their colleagues'. A list of repertoire and theoretical texts is found at the end of the document, and includes mention of a forthcoming method for the clarinet, to be written by Stadler himself. The Musick Plan serves to habilitate Stadler's reputation, at least partially.
After his four-year tour he left his wife for a young seamstress, Friederika Kabel, with whom he remained for the rest of his life. No doubt he spent money irresponsibly and continued to incur debts. He died of emaciation and was buried on 17 June 1812 on the old Catholic cemetery in Matzleinsdorf.
For clarinet:
For basset horn:
For czakan:
For wind ensemble:
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