MUZIO CLEMENTI
SIX SONATINAS, Op. 36 992/993
SIX SONATAS, Op. 4
(formerly Op. 37 & 38)
SIDNEY FOSTER, PianoMUZIO CLEMENTI (1752-1832)
SIX SONATINAS, Opus 36
SONATINA No. 1 in C MAJOR
1. Allegro 2. Andante 3. Vivace
SONATINA No. 2 in G MAJOR
4. Allegretto
5. Allegretto 6. Allegro
SONATINA No. 3 in C MAJOR
7. Spiritoso
8. Un poco adagio
9. Allegro
SONATINA No. 4 in F MAJOR
12. Andante con espressione
13. Rondo-Allegro vivace
SONATINA No. 5 in G MAJOR
14. Presto 15. Allegro moderato 16. Rondo-Allegro molto
SONATINA No. 6 in D MAJOR
11. Allegro con spirito 17. Allegro con spirito 18. Rondo-Allegretto spiritosoSONATAS,
Opus
4
SONATINA No. 1 in E-FLAT MAJOR
19.
SONATINA No. 2 in D MAJOR
SONATINA No. 3 in C MAJOR
SONATINA
SONATINA
SONATINA
Sidney FOSTER, Piano
Andantino 20. Presto 21. Allegro assai 22. Tempo di minuetto 23. Allegro con spirito 24. Allegro No. 4 in F MAJOR 25. Allegro con spirito 26. Andante con espressione 27. Rondo-Allegro vivace No. 5 in G MAJOR 28. Presto 29. Allegro moderato 30. Rondo-Allegro molto No. 6 in D MAJOR 31. Allegro con spirito 32. Rondo-Allegretto spiritosoClementi's famous Sonatinas have nourished and delighted generations of young pianists. It is not difficult to understand why. These "little sonatas'" have a clarity of form, precision of thought, and freshness of spirit that cannot but endear them to the student. The problems they present will challenge his fingers and his mind. They make ingenious use of all the resources of the piano - scales and runs, arpeggios and trills, broken octaves and passages in thirds and sixths. Ab0ve all they are not too difficult, and serve as an ideal preparation for the easier sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. The Sonatinas are clearly the work of a gifted teacher who was genuinely sensitive to the needs of the young. Among his pupils were several who later made their mark as distinguished artists. But Clementi was equally successful in training amateur pianists; and it was with them in mind that he
composed his Sonatinas. His pedagogic works have had a widespread infuence. The Gadus ad Parnassum (Step to Parnassus, 1817) consists of a superb series of one hundred studies that to this day provide a firm foundation for the art of piano playing. So exacting a judge as Beethoven preferred Clementi's Introduction to the Art of Playing the Pianoforte to all other methods for the training of the young. Beethoven's preference is all the more striking when we remember that his own pupil, Carl Czerny, was the author of a rival method.
Muzio Clementi was born in Rome in 1752. His father, an accomplished silversmith 'who was fond of music, noticed the child's uncommon gifts and took care that the future composer should receive a thorough musical education. By the time he was fourteen the boy had produced a number of works that attracted favorable
attention. In 1766 a wealthy English amateur, Peter Beckford, induced the father to allow him to take the lad to England, offering to pay for his further education. Muzio spent the next seven years at Beckford's estate, Fonthill Abbey, where a magnificent library nurtured his inquiring mind. Here he not only laid the foundation of his musical knowledge by studying the scores of the masters, but also acquired a wide knowledge of literature. (One of the favorite diversions of his old age was to read the Latin classics-in the original.).
His debut in London established his reputation as a brilliant pianist. This was followed by a year's sojourn in Paris, where he played before Marie Antoinette, and Vienna. The high point of the Viennese visit was his meeting with Mozart. Emperor Joseph II invited both artists to display their gifts on the same evening, which inevitably put
competitive situatíon. "Never," wrote Clementi of Mozart's pianism, "have I heard anyone play with such fire and expression." Mozart carried away a much less favorable impression of Clementi, mainly because the latter sought to impress with a sonata of his that featured technical isplay rather than musical feeling. That Clementi learned much from the encounter is attested to by his description of it many years later. He told one of his pupils that in those early days the "contest'" took place in 1781 - he had cultivated a more brilliant execu tion, especially in double notes, hardly known then," but that in later years he achieved. a more. melodic and noble style of per formance after listening attentively to famous singers, and also by means of the improved mechanism of English pianos, the con struction of which formerly stood in the way of a cantabile and legato style of playing." Thus his development both as a composer and
performer inevitably led Clementi from external virtuosity to a more inward and expressive style.
Endowed with boundless energy, he repreented the rather rare type of artist who is also a man of practical affairs. He amassed considerable fortune as a manufacturer of pianos and music publisher. His business activities, consequently, were not dissociated from his artistic pursuits, He made several improvements in the construction of the piano, with the result that the Clementi & Company marketed its products successfully both in England and on the Continent, Clementi's long career he lived to be eightystretched across a momentous period in the history of music. He was born four years before Mozart, reached maturity while Haydn was doing his most important work, and outlived Beethoven by hve years. It was
during this time that the piano supplanted the harpsichord as the ideal keyboard instrument for the home, and developed its own style and literature. This was also the period when the piano sonata ernerged as the most important form of solo music. Clementi's varied activíties as concert pianist, composer and teacher, piano nanufacturer and music publisher enabled him to play an important role at a crucial period in the history of his chosen instrument.
In addition he took an active part in the musical life of London. He was one of the organizers of the Professional Concerts, series that began in 1783 and continued for ten years; and he composed about twenty symphonies, several of which he conducted himself.
The last years of his life were spent on his property at Evesham, in Worcestershire, where he000p00 died in 1832. His adopted country honored him with a public funeral and burial in the
south cloister of Westminster Abbey.
Clementi's life spanned the transition from the classical style of the late eighteenth been century to the romantic style of the nine teenth. In certain of his sonatas he caught the accents of a new age, of the more emotional type of expression that came into music in the aftermath of the French Revolution outer. In many of his works he foreshadows the impassioned style of Beethoven. It should be added that Beethoven greatly admired these sonatas and accorded them a prominent place in his library. They reveal Clementi to have been one of the most important forerunners of Beethoven. The Italian master's position in history is aptly summed up by the English critic Edward Dannreuther: "Clementi may be regarded as the originator of the proper treatment of the modern pianoforte, as distinguished from the harpsichord. His example as a player
and teacher, together with his compositions, left a deep and indelible mark upon everything that pertains to the pianoforte.
The Sonatina in C, Opus 36, No. 1, is in C major, one of Clementi's favorite keys.-- How clearly one remembers, from the time when one was ten, the lilting arpeggi--like a little fanfare --with which the first movement opens. Marked Spiritoso, this chiseled movement is in alla breve (cut time).
The themes set forth in the opening section, the Exposition. A transitional passage in C minor, eight measures long, leads to a restatement of the material (the Recapitulation). Nothing could be more concise or to the point. The Andante is in F major and 3/4 time, a tender song marked by the restrained lyricism native to the classical style. The finale, a Vivace in the home key of C, in 3/s, is in sonatina form that is, an Exposition and a Recapitulation without
a Development. It provides an appropriately happy ending.
The second Sonatina of Opus 36 is in G major. Its first movement, benign in mood, is an Allegretto in 2/4. The opening section passes from the home key of G major to the key of the Dominant, D major. The brief Development begins in the minor and is woven out of motives derived from the Exposition. Then the material is restated, with the necessaryshift of the second theme from D major to the home key. There follows an Allegretto in C major, in 3/4 time. It has a gracious dotted rhythm that persists throughout the movement, and shows what ease and charm Clementi was able to achieve with the simpletst means. The first theme contrasts ith a second idea in the key of D and then is hear again in a finely balanced A-B-A form.
Opus 36, No. 3 is again in C major. It begins with a Spirito in 4/4. Clementi was fond of spirited movernents - that more amply designed than the first movements of the two preceding works. Striking is the broad downward curve of the open theme. The fact that both hands are in treble clef gives the music unwonted lightness, an effect enhanced by an abundance staccato notes in the opening passage. The second theme, in G contrasts with the first; it is lyrical and marked dolce, A charm codetta rounds off the Exposition. In the transitional passage t follows Clementi turns his opening theme upside down; it sounds as good going up as going down. The second theme is shift into C major and a brief coda brings the movement to a vigor close. The slow movement is marked Un poco adagio and is based on dotted rhythm. This is a brief and expressive movement in G major and 4/4 time. It shows off the flowing, song-
like melody that was Clementi's heritage as an Italian. The Allegro in C concludes the Sonatina has the lighthearted nimbleness that associate with Haydn's rondo-finales. The second theme, in major, contrasts effectively with the opening idea. Then be themes are repeated, the second one being shifted to the home of C, and a lively coda based on running figures brings the piece to an end.
The fourth Sonatina of the set, in F major, is slightly less popular than its fellows. Perhaps its material is not as immediately appealing, although its qualities reveal themselves with familiarity. The structure is similar to that of its predecessors: a striking theme in the home key followed by a transition, then a contrasting idea in the key of the Dominant ( the key, that is, five steps above the tonic); a transitional passage and a restatement of the material with the second theme and
coda shifted to thehome key. Here however the transition Notable in the slow movement, is the marking Andante con espressione, Here we are already within the confines of the 19th century. Indeed, these measures bring us a foreshadowing of the Beethovenian slow movement. Their quiet eloquence is fully explored in Mr. Foster's rendition. The Sonatina concludes with a Rondo in F marked Allegro vivace, in 2/4 time. The classical rondo was based on the recurrence of a main theme in alternation with subsidiary material, so that the successive sections forned the pattern A-B-A-B-A or A-B-A-C- idea –was to be heard again and again, it had to be bright and catchy by this particular movement the rondo theme is heard twice in succession, followed by a contrasting section and a transition that returns us to the home key, whereupon the rondo theme is again heard twice. The rhythm is based on a triplet figure that demands fleet fingers.
Sonatina Opus 4, No. 5 opens with e Presto in 4/4 based triplets. The frst theme, in the home key of G, contrasts with second idea in D major. Clementi puts this second theme in the bass, as Beethoven was so often to do. The transitional passage between Exposition and Recapitulation is elongated, in this mo ment, into a full-fledged development section in which the composer reweaves into fresh patterns certain motives drawn from his themes. Then he restates the material, with the second theme as usual shifted from the contrasting into the home key. It is interest ing to observe that this movement is conceived on a slightly larger scale than any that had preceded. Throughout, the continuous triplet rhythm acts as a unifying device. There follows an Allegro moderato that is a favorite with pianists old and young: an Air Suisse (Swiss melody) to which the composer was careful to append the adjective "Original." It is in C major
and 3/8 time. Notice the droning effect of the bass, which suggests a hurdy gurdy, and the enchanting middle section. Third is a Rondo in 2/4, marked Allegro di molto, in G. Clementi succeeds in sustain ing interest throughout the movement even though the rondo theme is more striking than the subsidiary material. The theme is heard twice, with a passage of figuration between. There follows a contrasting middle section with an elaborate transition back to the home key, and the rondo theme returns.
The last Sonatina of Opus 4 is in D major. Its opening movement, an Allegro con spirito in 4/4, shows how spaciously Clementi could handle the sonatina form; this is the longest moment in the set. In his use of contrasting registers and in the florid figuration of the connective passages Clementi achieves a style that is as idiomatic to the piano as Scarlatti's is to
the harpsichord. A rhythmically vigorous theme in D is contrasted with a gently lyrical one in A major, and a broadly designed codetta rounds off the Exposition. The transition to the Recapitulation is expanded into a welldefined section; then the material is restated, with the second theme and codetta shifted into the home key of D.
As if ake up for the dimensions of the first movement, home key, and the rondo theme returns.
The last Sonatina of Opus 36 is in D major. Its opening movement, an Allegro con spirito in 4/4, shows how spaciously Clementi could handle the sonatina form; this is the longest movement in the set. In his use of contrasting registers and in the florid figuration of the connective passages
Clementi achieves a style that is as idiomatic to the piano as Scarlatti's is to the harpsichord. A rhythmically vigorous theme in D is contrasted with a
gently lyrical one in A major, and a broadly designed codetta rounds off the Exposition. The transition to the Recapitulation is expanded into a welldefined section; then the material is restated, with the second theme and codetta shifted into the home key of D.
As if to make up for the dimensions of the first movement., Clementi omits the Andante and proceeds directly to the rondo finale. This is a spirited Allegretto in D, in 6/8 time, based on staccato thirds and running passages that call for a crisp and precise touch. The rondo theme in the home key is repeated immediately, but with variation. A connective passage leads to the contrasting idea in A major, which creates an atmosphere all its own.
The Sonatas of Op. 4 (formerly Op. 37 and Opus 38) are in two movements. The two-movemnent form was considered to be especially suitable for amateurs, since itdemanded a shorter span of attention.
At the same time Clementi's fine sense of proportion impelled him to make each movement a little longer than he would have done in a sonatina of three movements.
Sonata Opus 4, No. 1 begins with an Andantino in E-flat in 6/8 time. The first theme is a flowing melody that inhabits the expressive world of late Haydn or early Beethoven. The contrasting theme in B-flat shows one of Clementi's favorite procedures: a bass tone repeated over and over while the harmonies change above it (what is known as an organ point or pedal point). A few bars of transition lead into the Recapitulation; the material is restated in slightly abbreviated fashíon. It is followed by a good-humored Rondo, a Presto in E-flat in which a crísp theme is heard repeatedly in alternation with subordinate material. This kind of
finale gives an impression of effortless movement and served to bring many sonatas, concertos and symphonies of the classical period to a happy conclusion. Noteworthy is a passage in which the contrasting theme, originally in B-flat major, is shifted into C minor. Towards the end, of course, we hear this theme and the elaborate coda that follows it home in the home key of Eflat. Opus 4 No. 2 is an Allegro assai (very lively) in D major, in alla breve or cut time. It has a forceful opening theme. The transítion that follows presents a motive in the left hand against figuration in the right, and another example of organ point. The second theme in A major offers a lyrical contrast to the elaborate coda that follows it in the home key of E-flat. Opus 37 No. 2 is an Allegro assai (very lively) in D major, in alla breve or cut time. It has a forceful opening theme.
The transítion that follows presents a motive in the left hand against figuration in the right, and another example of organ point. The second theme in A major offers a lyrical contrast to the first and leads into a passage based on the triplet rhythm of which Clementi was so fond. In the Recapitulation the first theme returns in A major while the second is shifted into the home key of D. A bright coda in triplet rhythm concludes the move ment. There follows a Minuet that owes much of its grace to a repeated-note figure in the left-hand part and dotted rhythm in the right. The opening strophe is followed by the ever-present triplets. The middle section of this movement, the Trio, presents a suave melody in G major, at the close of which the Minuet is played da capo without repeats.
The third Sonata, in C major, opens with an Allegro e spiritoso in 4/4 tỉme.
The spacious theme announced at the outset promises a movement of ample proportions. A leisure transition is based on triplets, some of which are played against eighth notes in the bass (three against two). The second theme, in G, is surprisingly chromatic for Clementi. Triplets and dotted rhythm mark the ample codetta that brings the Exposition to a close. Clementi here treats the sonatina form with great freedom; he transforms and develops the motives of his first theme in the Recapitulation. The second theme and the codetta are shifted into the home key of C. The Allegro that follows, in C, opens with a highly effective example of an organ point on the Tonic or “do" (C). The movement begins with both hands in the treble, which contributes to the airy impression made by the music. A sectíon in C minor introduces a more somber coloring; but the shadows are soon dispelled with the return to the gracious C major of the opening theme.
This is a bigger rondo than we met in the earlier sonatinas. Its contrasting sections follow the pattern A-B-A-C-A and coda.
Sonata Opus 4, No. 4, in G, begins with an Allegro in G. The decisive first theme is followed by a transitional passage on running scales; the second theme in D is in Clementi's most Iyrical manner. In the Recapitulation the first theme, with its decisive repeated chords, is restated in D major; the transitional passage is expanded to include a few measures of triplet rhythm: and the lyrical second theme is shifted into the home key of G. The Andantino that follows is labeled Tempo di Menuetto. The 3/4 time traditionally associated with the minuet is overlaid with triplet rhythm in the bass, against which the right hand artículates the melody. A modulation to D major ushers in the middle section that contains an
interesting foreshadowing of Chopinone of many such passages in which Clementi anticipates the piano writing of the nineteenth century. Then the opening theme is repeated. Opus 38, No. 2 is in B-flat. In the brusque forcefulness of its opening gesture this movement anticipates Beethoven, as well as in the logic and forward drive of its unfolding. The contrasting theme is in the key of the Dominant, F major; and the codetta, instead of merely rounding of the Exposition, introduces a closing theme. In the Recapitulation Clementi not only restates his ideas but also expands them. The second theme is transposed to the home key of B-fat, as is the closing theie. This movement is followed by a delightful Allegretto in 2/4 that is a worthy descendant of the rondo-finales of Haydn. lt is based on two themes that alternate in the pattern A-B-A-B-A, with transitional material between and a decisive coda.
The finale work on this recording is the Sonatina Opus 4, No. 6 in F. Here too a broadly molded opening theme promises an extended movement. The second theme and codetta are in the key of the Dominant, C major. A brief development section features triplets, dotted rhythm and trills. The first theme returns in the home key, the second theme and codetta are transposed to F major. The second movement is a Rondo in 3/8 time marked Allegretto. The rondo themethat is, the principal idea heard three times in alternation with subordinate subjects; in other words, this is an A-BA-C-A form. The writing is crisp. the thematic material clear-cut, the figuration requires agile fingers, and a striking passage based on crossing the hands is reminiscent of that other Italian master of keyboard writing, Domenico Scarlatti. is Clementi's sharply profiled themes bespeak the high classical period, as does his
imaginative handling of his material. Noteworthy throughout is Clementi's affinity for the sonata form. This recording should do much to make his less familiar sonatinas familiar to a wider public than has enjoyed then hitherto. One is grateful for this broader view of the work of a distinguished musician whom his contemporaries rightly named "the Master of the Sonata."
JOSEPH MACHLIS
Professor of Music, Queens College of the City University of New York
A MusicalHeritageSocietyRecording produced under theauspicesofDr . Michael N
