MUZIO CLEMENTI COMPLETE PIANO SONATAS VOL. 1 GIACOMO SCINARDO MUZIO CLEMENTI 1752–1832 COMPLETE PIANO SONATAS VOl. 1 Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 1 No. 1 Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 1 No. 5 Klaviersonate Es-Dur Klaviersonate A-Dur 1 I. Allegro con comodo 2.51 10 I. Larghetto 4.57 2 II. Tempo di Minuetto 2.45 11 II. Tempo di minuetto. Grazioso 1.36 Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 1 No. 2 Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 1 No. 6 Klaviersonate G-Dur Klaviersonate E-Dur 3 I. Spiritoso 4.57 12 I. Moderato 3.55 4 II. Allegro assai 3.06 13 II. Rondeau. Grazioso 2.34 Piano Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 1 No. 3 Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 7 No. 1 Klaviersonate B-Dur Klaviersonate Es-Dur 5 I. Maestoso 3.36 14 I. Allegro 4.29 6 II. Andantino grazioso 3.43 15 II. Mesto 3.58 16 III. Allegretto spiritoso – Piano Sonata in F major, Op. 1 No. 4 Allegro – Tempo 1 2.49 Klaviersonate F-Dur 7 I. Spiritoso 4.15 Piano Sonata in C major, Op. 7 No. 2 8 II. Larghetto 4.07 Klaviersonate C-Dur 9 III. Rondeau 3.02 17 I. Allegro 5.48 18 II. Allegretto con espressione – Allegro 3.59 2 Piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 7, No. 3 Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 40 No. 2 Klaviersonate g-Moll Klaviersonate h-Moll 19 I. Allegro espressivo 4.55 28 I. Molto adagio e sostenuto 2.16 20 II. (Adagio) cantabile 3.07 29 II. Allegro con fuoco, e con 21 III. Allegro agitato 2.49 espressione 6.00 30 III. Largo, mesto e patetico 2.15 Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 13 No. 6 31 IV. Allegro – Tempo primo – Presto 5.33 Klaviersonate f-Moll 22 I. Allegro agitato 4.53 Piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 50 No. 3 23 II. Largo e sostenuto 6.17 “Didone abbandonata” 24 III. Presto 4.49 Klaviersonate g-Moll 32 I. Largo patetico e sostenuto 1.35 Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor, 33 II. Allegro, ma con espressione, Op. 25 No. 5 deliberando e meditando 9.31 Klaviersonate fis-Moll 34 III. Adagio dolente 4.48 25 I. Piùttosto allegro con espressione 5.19 35 IV. Allegro agitato e con 26 II. Lento e patetico 3.49 disperazione 8.13 27 III. Presto 4.40 piano / Klavier GIACOMO SCINARDO 2 Sponsored by Famiglia Barberini Recording: 26–28 December 2018, LGM Studio – Modica, RG, Italy · Editing and mastering: Gianluca Abbate Piano technician: Lorenzo Spagna · Piano model: Steinway D Total time: 2:17:15 P & g 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Switzerland GmbH 3 MUZIO CLEMENTI 1752–1832 COMPLETE PIANO SONATAS VOl. 1 Clementi’s work is barely known today, and its revolutionary significance in the history of music is therefore not well understood. He was everything that a man linked to the musical world could possibly be: composer, teacher, publisher and piano manufacturer. As a teacher, amongst his pupils he boasted some of the most famous names of the generation that followed him: J. Field and J.B. Cramer, G. Meyerbeer, Ludwig Berger, August Alexander Klengel, F. Kalkbrenner, Ignaz Moscheles and Carl Czerny (the future teacher of Franz Liszt). Clementi’s school stood in opposition to that of the German teacher C.P.E. Bach. Bach’s work was aimed at the in- strument’s lyrical content through a light writing technique that was still linked to the clavichord, whereas that of the Italian master was oriented towards exploring the piano’s sound potential and, consequently, developing pianistic technique. That is why his production identifies and explores all the instrument’s sonic and dynamic resources: for example, he intensified chordal writing and the use of doubled notes (such as doubled thirds, sixths and octaves). Clementi began a true “study” of technique. The Metodo-Introduction to the Art of playing on the Piano Forte (1801), the Preludi e Esercizi (1811, published as an appendix to the fifth edition of theMetodo ), and the 100 studies of the Gradus ad Parnassum published in three volumes (respectively in 1817, 1819 and 1826) represent the foundation and the legacy of his lifelong devotion to research. In the mid-1790s, Clementi acquired the Longman & Broderip firm, one of the most famous piano manufacturers in London. From 1798, the first square-pianos appeared with the new company name Longman, Clementi & Company: these instruments were considered the best at the time, combining a five-and-a-half-octave keyboard, with an escape- ment mechanism, and a resonance pedal. A few examples of Clementi pianos have come down to us in well-preserved condition and prove to have a very inter- esting tone, which not only distinguishes them from previous models, but also from their contemporary rivals. Clementi also devoted time to publishing, becoming a partner of J. Longman and W.F. Collarde. Between 1802 and 1810, he returned to continental Europe as a concert artist, teacher and entrepreneur. In 1807 Clementi reached an incredible publishing milestone by signing a contract with Beethoven, who granted him full publishing rights on all his compositions. 44 Clementi was also the founder, in 1813, of the Philharmonic Society of London, which went on to become the Royal Philharmonic Society in 1912. Inside Westminster Abbey, the epithet “father of the piano” appears on his tomb. The Sonatas After training on the harpsichord (the 6 Sonate op. 1 composed in 1770 are a striking stylistic example), Clementi pro- gressed to pianos. In 1782 he most probably had the chance to try the latest piano models, demonstrating in the 3 Sonate op. 7 that he learned to grasp all the new expressive possibilities. The orchestral timbre applied to the Sonata op. 7 no. 2 is more than evident: the full chords in both hands, the octave passages (among the first in the history of piano literature), the doubled thirds, the doubled sixths, the bold appoggiaturas, the chroma ticisms and the use of various instrumental registers are all innovative elements that would eventually characterize his unique compositional style. In the Sonata op. 7 no. 3 the captivating initial melody predicts the pathos of more mature compositions, including the drama expressed in the two following movements. The complexity of the Sonata op. 13 no. 6 (1784), and its greater size, are proof of the extended expressive role undertaken by this type of composition. Stylistically, some technical and expressive aspects which had been presented in the previous collections are elaborated. Thanks to its harmony and dissonances, which create a play of emotional tensions, the Largo e sostenuto is one of Clementi’s most intimate and expressive second movements. The op. 25 no. 5 in F-sharp minor (1788) is an atypical sonata that predicts Schubert’s intimate and dreamlike atmo- spheres: the Presto responds to the first two meditative movements characterized by doubled thirds with a shimmering colouristic effect. Throughout history, piano techniques, from the perspective of both composer and performer, have always evolved in parallel with the instrument itself. The fact that, since the end of the 18th century, Clementi owned a factory of high-level pianos like Longman & Broderip placed him in a privileged position. It is not a coincidence that in 1802 Clementi com- posed one of his masterpieces: the Sonata op. 40 no. 2 in B minor. The 3 Sonate op. 40 are the first work composed by Clementi in the new century and seem to be affected by the desire for new expressiveness, with a tendency towards what would become the stylistic features of Romanticism. Among the three, no. 2 in B minor is the most daring: it is here that Clementi, looking for new formal solutions, seeks the maximum con sistency within the piece, and to this end, 5 the Largo mesto e patetico is inextricably linked to the ensuing Allegro. As in Beethoven’s Sonata “Patetica” in C minor op. 13, the Largo is repeated prior to the reprise, which recurs at a faster tempo – a Presto in which a finale of powerful agitation and drama comes to an end. Among the features of Clementi’s pianism are some essential aspects, such as: a full and vigorous sound, contrasts be- tween “legato” and “staccato”, a variety of colours, and an ability to elaborate thematic material in continuously innova- tive ways. The aforementioned elements make him, in some respects, a pre-Romantic artist, despite being a composer of Classical conception. The Sonata in G minor op. 50 no. 3 (1821) highlights this stylistic dualism. This composition was inspired by the story of Dido, narrated in the fourth book of Virgil’s Aeneid. The introductory Largo and the Adagio are instilled with a neoclassical emphasis, while the allegri are affected by the pathos of the new century, expressing the hero- ine’s grief with a sinuous and hesitant theme and the graveness of suicide with a decisive and desperate melody. Vincenzo Pavone Translation: Al del Vecchio © Traduciamoinsieme 6 MUZIO CLEMENTI 1752–1832 DIE KLAVIERSONATEN VOl. 1 Bis heute ist die revolutionäre Bedeutung von Clementis Werk in der Musikgeschichte noch wenig bekannt und daher kaum verstanden. Er war alles, was ein mit der Musikwelt verbundener Mensch sein konnte: Komponist, Lehrer, Verleger und Klavierbauer. Als Lehrer hatte er unter seinen Schülern einige der berühmtesten Namen der Nachfolge-Generation: John Field und Johann Baptist Cramer, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Ludwig Berger, August Alexander Klengel, Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Ignaz Moscheles und Carl Czerny (der zukünftige Lehrer von Franz Liszt). Die Schule von Clementi war quasi die „italienische Version“ der deutschen Schule Carl Philipp Emanuel Bachs.