It is the purpose of this thesis to present a study of music written for the clarinet during the period from 1600 to 1800. The first part is a history of the clarinet showing the stages of development of the instrument from its early predecessors to its present form. Part one also explains the acoustics of the clarinet and its actual invention. The second part deals with composers and their music for the clarinet. No attempt is made to include all music written for the instrument during the prescribed period; rather, the writer's intention is to include chiefly those works by composers whose musics has proven to be outstanding in clarinet literature or interesting historically. The order in which the works themselves are taken up is chronological, by composers, with comment on their styles as to form, harmonic content, melodic content, rhythmic content, problems in phrasing, or any other general technical problem. All of these elements are illustrated with examples taken from the music.

Instead of putting the emphasis on color in his orchestration, Brahms felt that the music was more important; not the orchestration. However, it would be a mistake to feel that he was deaf to orchestral color. When discussing color in regard to Brahms' orchestration it is necessary to realize that his use of color is much different than that of his contemporaries. This thesis discusses the four symphonies of Brahms and his usage of brass instruments within these symphonies, specifically the french horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba. It is apparent that he used considerable care in writing for the brasses as well as the other instruments and had complete command of the use of their individual colors.

Sinfonia Concertante is a name for an eighteenth-century composition as well as a name of an eighteenth-century instrumental form that was modeled after the earlier concerto grosso. It may be defined as a composition for two or more solo instruments with orchestral accompaniment and written in a style that admits the brilliant display of skill on the soloists' part. It is also thought that the form is nearer that of the symphony than that of the concerto. This thesis discusses the many different influences that resulted in the instrumental form of the sinfonia concertante as well as analyzes specific sinfonia concertanti of Bach, Haydn, Karl Stamitz, and Mozart.