Clementi, "Father of the Piano"

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Toccata in B-flat Major, Op.11 No.2: Prestissimo, Muzio Clementi

Clementi was an Italian-born, British pianist and composer whose studies and sonatas developed the techniques of the early piano to such an extent that he was called the "father of the piano". Listen to his Toccata (from the Italian toccare meaning, literally 'to touch' - a piece intended to show off the performer's 'touch') performed virtuosically by Costantino Mastroprimiano:



Conrad Graf | Fortepiano | Austrian | The Met

A 'fortepiano' is an early version of what we now simply call the 'piano'. Most typically it is used to refer to the late-18th early-19th century and it is the instrument for which composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Clementi composed their piano oeuvres for. 

Muzio Clementi (1752–1832) was an Italian-born English ...
Muzio Clementi (1752 - 1832)

As a young prodigy, Clementi came to the attention of Peter Beckford (twelve years Clementi's senior), who persuaded Clementi's father that Muzio come to England. From 1766, Clementi lived quietly in Wiltshire where he pursued a rigorous course of studies. 


Portrait of Sir Peter Beckford, Clementi's patron (1740 - 1811) by Pompeo Batoni

In 1773, Clementi moved to London and met with immediate and lasting success as a composer and pianist. The piano had become more popular in England than anywhere else, and Clementi, in studying its special features, made brilliant use of the new instrument and its capabilities. He toured Europe and on one particular instance, in Vienna, he became engaged in a friendly musical duel with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the instigation of the emperor, Joseph II. However, later, Mozart remarked that Clementi was:

"...A charlatan, like all Italians..."
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

This contributed to the weakening of the market for Clementi's music. However, Clementi was a shrewd businessman and co-founded a firm for both music publishing and the manufacture of fortepianos. He also taught, and among his numerous pupils was John Field, who is considered the first composer to write 'nocturnes' for the piano, providing the archetype for Chopin. 

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia


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