Clementi, Muzio

Preface

Muzio Clementi – Symphony in B flat major op. 18 no. 1

(Rome, 23 January 1752–Evesham, Worcester, 10 March 1832)

Preface
A new influence on British orchestral music, albeit less strong than that of Johann Christian Bach, Carl Friedrich Abel, or Joseph Haydn, was exerted by Muzio Clementi. He may have settled in England at the age of 15 after Peter Beckford, a cousin of the writer, had “bought” him from his father in 1766 or 1767. After seven years of service, he probably moved to London in 1774. Soon, he became a significant figure in London’s musical life. During a continental tour, he played for Marie Antoinette in 1780 and competed with Mozart in 1781, who was only four years younger than him. In 1783, he returned to London, where he took on the young J. B. Cramer as a student and soon became a regular harpsichordist at the concerts at Hanover Square. Clementi performed at these concerts until 1790. His symphonies, like Haydn’s “London” symphonies, date from around 1786 (very likely composed for this concert series); until 1796, he participated in London’s concert life as a pianist. The concert seasons that Haydn spent in England (1791/92 and 1794/95) clearly demonstrated the London audience’s preference for his music, and Clementi was one of many who lost in competition with Haydn. This does not mean that Clementi was entirely unsuccessful in absolute terms. Particularly in the 1790s, he enjoyed great success with new symphonic compositions. As The Morning Chronicle reported in 1795: “Clementi contributed a new overture and provided ample proof that, as established as his fame was, he also rises in his own compositions. The Allegro was truly cheerful, the Andante was an inspired conversation in which the joyful, the serious, and occasional touches of grandeur were charmingly mixed while maintaining the theme. – The minuets were lively, and the final movement was equal to, if not superior to, the rest.”1

Clementi became increasingly in demand as a piano teacher, his most famous pupil being John Field, and after the bankruptcy of Longman & Broderip in the 1790s he established his own publishing and musical-instrument-making firm. Travelling for marketing purposes on the continent from 1802 to 1810, he then appeared from 1813 to 1824 at the Philharmonic Society concerts (directing 24 concerts), and proceeded to put on five of the concerts at the Concerts of Ancient and Modern Music. In 1816‑17 a trip to Paris led to his performing some of his symphonies at the Concerts Spirituels in Paris, and in 1822 he conducted three concerts at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. However, his efforts to promote his music at a time when it was nearly totally out of date ended in failure; after 1824 his symphonies disappeared entirely, even from the London stage. In 1830 Clementi retired from his firm, dying two years later at the age of 80 and buried in the Westminster Abbey cloisters. …

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