Carl Maria von Weber made his big mark in opera and loved singing himself but accidentally drank engraver's acid (his dad had left it in a wine bottle), and it ruined his voice.



Concertino op. 26 was composed as the first piece of a series of works for clarinetist Heinrich Baermann.

Weber's theatrically styled works for clarinet broke new grounds in the Romanticism, with their atmospheric color, displaying the clarinet's wide-ranging capabilities for expressivity and virtuosic display, allowing a new measure of proeminence.
 

A "miniature opera" with its tapestry of different narrative colours the Concertino fuels the listeners' imagination, making this piece a favourite in the standard concert repertoire. 

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I love the piece because Weber goes for it musically, no holds barred, and doesn't worry about going over the top. The clarinet can really "sing" in this piece, and I feel, so can I when I'm really in the zone.