The clarinet repertoire has grown exponentially during the twentieth century, especially after 1950. A primary reason is that, compared to many other instruments, the clarinet's history and evolution is recent. The principal reason, however, is the importance assigned to the clarinet in military bands and wind ensembles, in which the clarinet plays a similar leading role as the violins in a symphony orchestra. Hence the clarinet has emerged as one of the most flexible of Western musical instruments. This versatility affords both composers and performers many options regarding timbre, dynamics, as well as a wide range and a well laid out fundamental technique.

These circumstances have led to a growing repertoire for solo clarinet that makes use in one form or another of the many extended techniques that the instrument can exploit. These techniques have been collaboratively explored and perfected by both composers and clarinetists, ranging from the common glissando to the use of the single mouthpiece. This paper explores the use of clarinet extended techniques in solo and chamber clarinet works by Portuguese composers, including Maria de Lurdes Martins, Clotilde Rosa, Paulo Brandao, Luis Tinoco, Joao Rafael, and Antonio Sousa Dias. I selected these composers among many Portuguese musicians because their works include the most imaginative uses of extended techniques, including some that are to this day still highly unusual and expressive. By dividing these composers into two musical generations, I not only get inside each of these works but offer performers a detailed road map to successful performances of them.