Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major, K.622, was one of Josef Ratzinger’s favorite pieces of music, or at least so I recall reading once, even if the cardinal and sometime pope was a pianist. The concerto, in three movements, was composed in 1791, a few weeks before the great composer’s death, his last complete work (his subsequent Requiem was left unfinished). The standard performance calls for solo clarinet, two flutes, two bassoons, two horns and a string section. Its melodic lines are beautiful and transcendent, and you may find yourself humming them throughout the day, as is the way with Mozart.
