Born in Switzerland, Jean Xavier Lefèvre (1763-1829) was a sought-after clarinetist and one of the first clarinet professors at the Paris Conservatory. He is still known today for his Clarinet School (1802), which became a standard work in France and beyond.

From this textbook comes the popular Sonata no. 1 with its catchy melody that encourages light playfulness. The piece is graded here as level 2. Also available: Sonata No. 2 g minor (SE 1039).
Lefèvre wrote the piece originally for the then common C-Clarinet. For use in the classroom, this edition omits the transposition of the clarinet part into the B tuning. The accompanying bass voice of the original was transferred to the piano and supplemented with some suggestions on dynamics and articulation. Hints and tips from publisher Rudolf Mauz (Die fröhliche Klarinette) offer students assistance in the preparation of the work.

This edition is part of the Schott Student Edition series, which offers a diverse repertoire of lessons, concerts and exams of varying degrees of difficulty (from easy to difficult). To this end Schott continues to publish popular standard works from music history in a modern and clear edition. For many pieces an audio file of the piano accompaniment is available for download.

Difficulty: easy