Considered by some music historians to be the "father" of piano technique, Muzio Clementi (1752–1832) is also regarded by many as the first composer to achieve the fully matured piano sonata of the late Classic period. Beethoven admired Clementi's sonatas and studied them closely. Indeed, according to the New Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the "dynamic extremes, propulsive figurations and octave melodies" of certain early and middle period Clementi sonatas (Op. 7, No. 3; Op. 13, No. 6) are echoed in early Beethoven sonatas of a decade later. Clementi exerted enormous influence on other pianists and composers as well, including such figures as Herz, Meyerbeer, and Dussek. Although unjustly neglected in the past, today Clementi's piano sonatas are widely admired and recorded (by Horowitz, among others) and are considered his chief musical legacy.
This volume contains 10 of his finest works in the genre:
Sonata in G Minor, Op. 7, No. 3
Sonata in F Minor, Op. 13, No. 6
Sonata in G Major, Op. 25, No. 2
Sonata in F-sharp Minor, Op. 25, No. 5
Sonata in D Major, Op. 25, No. 6
Sonata in A Major, Op. 33, No. 1
Sonata in G Major, Op. 40, No. 1
Sonata in B Minor, Op. 40, No. 2
Sonata in D Minor and Major, Op. 40, No. 3
Sonata in G Minor, Op. 50, No. 3 ("Didoneabbandonata"; Scena tragica)
For this edition, all but one of the sonatas have been reprinted from an authoritative edition originally published by C. F. Peters, Leipzig. The result is a treasury of fine keyboard music — in an attractive, high-quality volume — by an innovative and influential composer whose music continues to win new admirers.