Louis Spohr’s technically, extremely demanding concertos have long been part of clarinetists’ standard repertoire. Like the first clarinet concerto, this second concerto was composed for the clarinetist Johann Hermstedt, probably in the spring of 1810. Critics praised the concerto at its premiere, stating that it was “undeniably one of the most accomplished works of art of its kind.” Emphasized was also the “great and brilliant treatment of the solo instrument, combined with a very original orch...