They are one of his most famous works as a pedagogue and were published, of course, with a pedagogical purpose, intended for young bourgeois piano lovers. It was an extraordinary contribution. And it still is, two hundred and twenty years later.
This is the author's great merit. There is no classical piano student today who has not studied and chosen at least one of Maestro Clementi's "progressive" sonatinas for an exam.
The Opus 36
Over the course of his life, the master composed no less than 110 piano sonatas. He called a group of them – the earliest and simplest – "progressive", because their difficulty increases from the first to the last. Six of them make up Opus 36. And if No. 1 does not demand much from the left hand, the last one requires great skill to play complex rhythms, as well as exquisite phrasing.
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| Muzio Clementi (1752 - 1832) |
In general terms, the complete work emphasizes the basic skills in learning the piano: dynamic control, even touch, and melodic phrasing. In a new edition of 1803, published as a supplement to yet another of his pedagogical contributions (Introduction to the Art of Playing the Pianoforte), Clementi included specific instructions on ornamentation and arpeggios. As in 1797, the work was an immediate success. It was the fate of the master, who died rich in 1832.
The six Sonatinas have different characters, but in all of them, grace and charming melodies are present.
Sonatina No. 5 from Opus 36, in G major - Movements
It is in 3 movements and is the longest of the whole set, lasting just over seven minutes. Its second movement is a "Swiss air", made up of unusual six-bar phrases.
00 Presto
02:20 Air Suisse. Allegro moderato
04:02 Rondo. Allegro di molto
The performance is by the remarkable Chinese pianist Yuja Wang, when she was nine years old.
