Julius Rietz isn’t well known as a composer. He was an excellent conductor, he succeeded Mendelssohn in several of his positions. He also edited a lot of Mendelssohn’s works for publication.

However, he wrote a masterpiece for us clarinet players. It’s his concerto op.29 in G minor. The first movement is quite virtuosic, but in a different way than in Weber’s concertos. Maybe because it’s not just virtuosity for itself, but to really serve a musical purpose. The second movement is remarkable for the serenity of its melody. The third one finishes the opus with a very brilliant coda.

Here is Sharon Kam’s version, with the “Sinfonia Varsovia” :

If some of you are interested in the sheet music, you can find it on IMSLP.

Did you know this piece? I think it deserve to be played more often!