Clarinet Concerto, op. 29

Julius Rietz worked beside Mendelssohn at the Düsseldorf opera before taking over the Leipzig opera and, later, the Gewandhaus orchestra; he was also a cellist and one of the editors who prepared the first collected editions of Mendelssohn and Mozart. His clarinet concerto in G minor, op. 29, follows the shape of Mendelssohn's violin concerto: three linked movements, with the soloist entering after a few bars and denying the orchestra its opening exposition. The middle section is the strongest part, and the finale ends in the major. Recordings recovered the piece after long neglect.