Italian composer Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) is known almost exclusively for his piano sonatas, which remain an integral part of piano tuition around the world. It turns out that he also wrote six symphonies, some copies of which he may have destroyed. His second-guesser was composer and musicologist Alfredo Casella, who found the two symphonies recorded here in parts in the U.S. Library of Congress and reconstructed them. As it happens, they're worth hearing. They show the clear influence of Beethoven and must therefore ...
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Italian composer Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) is known almost exclusively for his piano sonatas, which remain an integral part of piano tuition around the world. It turns out that he also wrote six symphonies, some copies of which he may have destroyed. His second-guesser was composer and musicologist Alfredo Casella, who found the two symphonies recorded here in parts in the U.S. Library of Congress and reconstructed them. As it happens, they're worth hearing. They show the clear influence of Beethoven and must therefore date from toward the end of Clementi's long life, but even taking that into account their mastery is impressive. The two slow movements, especially, are convincing replicas of Beethoven's tragic mode. If one suggests the 1810s as a probable decade of composition, there were just a few other composers, including Beethoven's student Ferdinand Ries, who were producing comparable work, and Clementi's accomplishment is even more surprising given that he had no known talent for orchestral...
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