What is a basset clarinet? The answer lies in part with a famous 18th-century friendship.

Mozart’s friendship with the great Bohemian clarinet virtuoso Anton Stadler (1753–1812), and their connection with fellow Freemason and clarinet builder extraordinaire Theodor Lotz (1748–92) resulted in some of the most gorgeous works in the repertoire. His Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581, as well as the Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622, were written for his close friend Stadler to perform on a newly invented instrument – the basset clarinet. Looking like an extra-long clarinet with a bulb-like end, the basset clarinet added four more chromatic notes to the bottom of the range of an ordinary clarinet. (Not to be confused with the larger basset horn, for which Mozart also wrote.) The sound is big and juicy, with all the lovely melifluosity you’d expect in upper registers.

Stadler had worked together with Lotz to craft this instrument, and it was quite a novelty, evidenced by the fact that many of Stadler’s concert programs announced that he would perform on this unusual instrument. Several surviving announcements for concerts even went so far as to include an illustration of the instrument.

Later composers also wrote for later versions of the basset clarinet, but it remained a niche instrument and fell out of common use. Stadler’s instrument – and the notes for making it – were lost.

Then in 1991 a musicologist made an astounding discovery at a castle in Riga, Latvia: The program poster for one of Stadler’s concert tours of 1794, including an illustration of his innovative new instrument. Modern makers set to work, and the basset clarinet was back in action.

Nicole van Bruggen, co-artistic director, general manager and principal clarinettist of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, is one of just two musicians in Australia who owns and performs on basset clarinet. She commissioned her own instrument from Parisian maker Agnès Gueroult in time for Mozart’s 250th birthday anniversary in 2006, and performed with it all over Europe.

More recently, Nicole performed Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet on basset clarinet for ARCO’s ‘Viennese Vogue’ tour in March 2023 and has also performed his famous Clarinet Concerto with the orchestra. She also used it for the world premiere of ARCO-commissioned piece ‘Wavelength’ by Nicole Murphy during the 2024 Queensland tour ‘The Sunrise’, performing it with a string quartet at concerts and Voyage of Musical Discovery education programs in schools from Brisbane to Bundaberg.

The basset clarinet is just one of over 20 historical clarinets that ARCO co-artistic director Nicole van Bruggen plays expertly!