The one-movement Adagio in tempo Lento assai has a duration of approximately forty minutes.

[3] Widmann's unsuccessful first attempt to write a clarinet quintet was in 2009 and initially abandoned because "music history ... suddenly appeared as a great burden".

[6][7] The work is commissioned by Centro Nacional de Difusión Musical Madrid, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Strijkkwartet Biennale Amsterdam, LuganoMusica, Carnegie Hall, Cité de la Musique Paris, Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg, Philharmonie Essen, and Wigmore Hall.

[9] In 2018–2019 the Clarinet Quintet was played also in an international tour, with performances in Paris, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Essen, London, Salzburg, and New York.

[1] Heidemarie Klabacher wrote: "wonderful contribution to the music genre" ("wunderbarer Beitrag zur Gattung").