Clementi's Sonatas

Muzio Clementi composed more than one hundred piano sonatas. Some of the earlier and easier ones were later classified as "sonatinas".

The following description of Clementi's Piano Sonata: Opus 50, Number 3 (Didone abbandonata) was written by Leon Plantinga, and is included with the 2010 Hyperion CD-album Clementi: The Complete Piano Sonatas - 6 (Hyperion, ASIN: B003XWFLXI, performed by Howard Shelley):

Best known of the sonatas of Op. 50 is the last one, subtitled ‘Didone abbandonata’, the only one of his instrumental compositions to which Clementi applied a programmatic title; this may well be a reference to Metastasio’s libretto of that name, set by a number of eighteenth-century composers. ... Clementi’s last sonata is of its own time, but also an affirmation of stylistic and expressive aims that he had embraced for his entire career.

Muzio Clementi (1752 - 1832) was an Italian composer and pianist. He is best known for his piano sonatas, sonatinas, and Gradus ad Parnassum, a collection of etudes (piano studies). Clementi is considered to be one of the greatest piano players ever. He played a significant role in the development of the sonata form, and is a prominent figure in the history of music.

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