Clementi: Works for Piano

Featuring

Piotr Kępiński
Muzio Clementi

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Historical Context

In 1781, Emperor Joseph II staged a famous pianistic duel between Clementi and Mozart in Vienna, where both musicians performed and improvised.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Clementi's sonatas are considered important for shaping modern piano style and texture, and for developing the sonata form itself.

Critical Reception

Mozart was infuriated by the Emperor's draw in his duel with Clementi, calling Clementi a 'mere mechanicus' with 'no feeling or taste' in a letter to his father.

Composer Biography

Towards the end of his life, Clementi reflected on his identity with ambivalence, stating: 'I am a young Italian, but an old Englishman.'

Composer Biography

Muzio Clementi, born in Rome in 1752, is buried in Westminster Abbey, where his tombstone reads: 'The father of the pianoforte'.

Composition History

Clementi's 'The Sprig of Shillelah' Variations were accidentally discovered in Aberdeen in 1978, with an earlier version known as 'The Black Joke' Variations.

Instruments

Clementi was one of the 'fathers' of the English piano, which was the ancestor of modern Steinways and Yamahas, while Mozart preferred the more delicate Viennese piano.