Subscription Concert I - HOUSE OF INDUSTRY

“The Clarinet & the Basset Horn”

This concert programme highlights two closely related instruments of the clarinet family — the clarinet and the basset horn — within a music-historical context spanning from the late 18th to the early 19th century. It reveals stylistic developments as well as differing compositional approaches to the tonal world of these instruments.

The basset horn, a lower and darker-sounding member of the clarinet family, achieved wider recognition primarily through Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, but was also employed as a solo instrument by contemporaries such as Heinrich Backofen (1768–1830). Today, Backofen’s name is virtually forgotten, yet his works demonstrate the diversity of compositional treatment that this instrument enjoyed around 1800. Thanks to its special tuning (usually in F), the basset horn offers greater tonal depth and a distinctive expressive dimension — qualities that are seldom heard in today’s concert practice.

Carl Maria von Weber, a leading figure of early Romanticism, ultimately led the clarinet into a new phase of its development. In his works, the instrument becomes a dramatically charged musical voice of great technical and emotional range — strongly influenced by the operatic style of his time and often written in close collaboration with the finest clarinetists of his era.

The programme also includes a string quartet by Joseph Haydn and Johann Michael Haydn, exemplifying the high classical ideal.

Altogether, the evening invites the listener on a sonic journey through a period of musical transformation — from the Classical pursuit of balance to the expressive richness of Romanticism — while placing two woodwind instruments at the centre whose repertoire remains rich yet still largely undiscovered.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Concilium musicum Wien

Founded in 1982 by Paul and Christoph Angerer, the ensemble initially focused on performing works of the 18th century. Over the course of its development, its repertoire has continually expanded. Today, it is renowned for its broad musical spectrum, with a clear emphasis on Austrian Baroque, on Haydn and Mozart and their circles, as well as on Viennese dance music of the 19th century.

Through its diverse programmes, Concilium musicum Wien brings valuable music from the archives to life, performs works by unjustly forgotten composers, and sheds new light on rarely played masterpieces by the great classics. The ensemble performs on historically original and authentic instruments from the time the works were composed. It appears in various formations — most often as a chamber ensemble, but also as an orchestra — and has performed successfully both in Austria and abroad.

Based in Vienna, Concilium musicum Wien is the Ensemble in Residence of the Haydn Society of Vienna (Haydn-Gesellschaft Wien). Numerous radio and television recordings, as well as many CD productions, document its richly varied repertoire.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Seats are numbered for all subscription concerts. Within the selected ticket category, seating is allocated in the order that bookings are received.

Subscribers from the 2024/25 season will retain their existing seats for the 2025/26 season, provided the subscription is not cancelled.

Ticket Prices 2025/26:

Subscription: €166 | 145 | 120 | 100

Reduced subscription: €150 | 130 | 110 | 90

Single ticket: €52 | 45 | 38 | 33

Reduced single ticket: €47 | 41 | 35 | 30

All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.

Haus der Industrie

Schwarzenbergplatz 4 | 1030 Vienna

Enjoy wine, grape juice, and light pastries from Weingut Emil Bauer before the concert and during the interval!

Ottenthal 26, 3470 Kirchberg am Wagram

+43 664 154 27 61 | www.emilbauer.at