There are not many works written for clarinet and string quartet, but this repertoire counts some absolute masterpieces. Mozarts KV 581 is certainly the first of them, and it inspired the composers who would later consider this genre. Brahms wrote his Clarinet Quintet after hearing clarinetist Mld perform amazingly well the piece by Mozart, and was encouraged by this experience to reconsider his earlier decision to quit composing. Reger referenced both Mozart and Brahms when he wrote his own Quintet, which was to be his very last compositional word, to be premiered posthumously in his memory. These two masterpieces thus represent a kind of artistic testament of their composers, who were able to employ in the best possible fashion the mellow and melancholy tone of the clarinet.