Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K 581

Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K 581, quintet in four movements for clarinet, two violins, viola, and cello by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, completed on September 29, 1789. The work was written as a showpiece for Mozart’s friend and fellow Freemason virtuoso clarinetist Anton Stadler, but it found an unexpectedly wide audience when it was featured in the final episode (1983) of the television series M*A*S*H.

The clarinet, apparently derived from the chalumeau—a Renaissance instrument with a somewhat lower range than the contemporary standard B-flat clarinet—was not invented until the early 18th century. The instrument gradually found a place in the orchestra, but it did not gain a solo role until Mozart met Stadler and brought the clarinet into the spotlight. Stadler’s unequaled artistry inspired two of Mozart’s finest works of his last years: the Clarinet Quintet and the Clarinet Concerto.

After the composer’s death in 1791, manuscripts of both works fell into Stadler’s care. When Mozart’s widow, Constanze, attempted to retrieve them, the clarinetist claimed that they had been stolen from him during a tour of Germany; she, for her part, was convinced that Stadler had pawned them. To this day the manuscripts remain lost. Extant versions are based solely on early copies and first printings from Mozart’s own day.