Clementi: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 6

Featuring

Howard Shelley
Muzio Clementi

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Composer Biography

Muzio Clementi, born in Rome in 1752, moved to England in his early teens and remained there for the rest of his life.

Notable Performances

In late 1781, Clementi participated in a celebrated piano 'contest' with Mozart at the court of Joseph II.

Compositional Technique

The last sonata of Op 50, 'Didone abbandonata', is Clementi's only instrumental work with a programmatic title, possibly referencing Metastasio's libretto of the same name.

Composer Biography

Clementi became a highly sought-after teacher, charging one guinea per lesson, and later co-founded Longman, Clementi & Co., a company manufacturing pianos and publishing music.

Recording & Production

This album is the sixth and final volume in a complete chronological survey of Clementi's piano sonatas, a series that has received widespread critical acclaim.

Composition History

Clementi's Opus 50 sonatas, dedicated to his fellow Italian Luigi Cherubini, were likely composed years earlier and possibly intended as a 'Book II' to Opus 40, but their publication was delayed.

Composition History

The sonatas Opus 40, Book I, published in 1802, were intended for professional pianists or advanced students, as Clementi himself had largely stopped performing in public by then.