Clementi: Gradus ad Parnassum, Vol. 2 (Nos. 25-41)

Featuring

Alessandro Marangoni
Muzio Clementi

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Recording & Production

This recording was made in the Baroque Hall of the SMC in Ivrea, Italy, on June 19th-20th, 2010.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Clementi's Gradus ad Parnassum, Op. 44, is a collection of one hundred exercises designed to help pianists achieve the highest level of musical and technical perfection, akin to ascending Mount Parnassus, sacred to Apollo.

Compositional Technique

The Gradus ad Parnassum showcases a wide range of compositional and pianistic techniques, from pure finger drills to preludes, fugues, canons, and sonata movements.

Notable Performances

Muzio Clementi participated in a legendary musical competition against Mozart in 1781, arranged by Emperor Joseph II of Austria, testing their improvisational skill, virtuosity, and compositional mastery.

Composer Biography

Muzio Clementi, known as 'the father of the pianoforte,' also had a successful career as a businessman, selling pianos and securing exclusive English printing rights with Beethoven.

Composer Biography

Muzio Clementi, an Italian-English piano virtuoso, was adopted or 'purchased' from his family at age 14 by Peter Beckford, a member of the British Parliament, who took him to England.

Performer Biography

Alessandro Marangoni, the pianist on this recording, has performed in many important musical events across Europe and has also given over a hundred concerts for the virtual platform Second Life.