Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute for 2 Clarinets

📓 The present two-clarinet arrangement of numbers from Mozart's Die Zauberflote was published c. 1806. The arranger was Johann Georg Busch, who appears to be identical with the cellist who played in the Kassel Court Orchestra from 1783. It has not been possible to establish when he was born or when he died. The pieces were published by Johann Anton Andr? from Offenbach in versions for both clarinet and flute and appeared under the title Airs favoris tires des operas arranges p. 2 Ciar. (Fl.) (Favourite Arias Drawn from the Operas Arranged for 2 Clarinets [Flutes]). As early as 1802 Armand Vanderhagen, one of the most famous clarinettists of his day, had already arranged various numbers from Die Zauberflote for two clarinets. Busch presumably used this arrangement as the basis for his own edition, although Van-derhagen's version is inferior to Busch's in terms not only of its choice of items but also in its overall tonal picture. Andre advertised the duets in several newspapers of the time under the heading Mozart, morceaux choisiers de l'Opera (Zauberflote) p. 2 Ciar., Offenbach, Andre (Mozart: Selected Numbers from the Opera Die Zauberflote for Two Clarinets). The present pieces are highly effective in terms of their technique and musical form and, since the difficulties they pose are interpretational rather than technical, they will surely enhance the repertory of every clarinettist.