Notes and Editorial Reviews
In some respects Muzio Clementi's piano sonatas provide the missing link between Mozart's and Beethoven's, and are far less appreciated than they ought to be. Fortunately, we have Howard Shelley to set things straight as he embarks upon the ambitious and enviable task of recording them all (Clementi wrote nearly 100 sonatas) in chronological order. Although the composer's earlier sonatas don't hint at the harmonic sophistication and expressive range to come in masterworks like the F-sharp minor Op. 25 No. 5 and the Op. 40 group, their exquisitely balanced keyboard deployment, virtuosic wit, and infectious melodic charm never fail to delight the ear.
While Howard Shelley scales down his tone to fortepiano dimensions, his
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impeccable taste and sense of style breathe life and meaning into every bar. Trills, runs, and scales add up to the highest sums of musicality and accuracy (the horrifically difficult double notes in the C major Op. 2 No. 2 sonata's whirlwind exposition, for example), while a prodigious range of nuance and color characterize Shelley's tone. Hyperion's sonics are a shade distant and at times opaque, and they don't quite match the depth and presence I usually enjoy from this label's solo piano productions. Nevertheless, Shelley's mastery totally comes across, and you get two well-filled discs for the price of one. A must-have for piano buffs!
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com
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Works on This Recording
1.
Sonatas (6) for Piano, Op. 1: no 1 in E flat major by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
2.
Sonatas (6) for Piano, Op. 1: no 2 in G major by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
3.
Sonatas (6) for Piano, Op. 1: no 3 in B flat major by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
4.
Sonatas (6) for Piano, Op. 1: no 4 in F major by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
5.
Sonatas (6) for Piano, Op. 1: no 5 in A major by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
6.
Sonatas (6) for Piano, Op. 1: no 6 in E major by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
7.
Sonata for Keyboard in C major, Op. 2 no 2 by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: by 1779; England
8.
Sonata for Piano in A major, Op. 2 no 4 by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
9.
Sonata for Keyboard in B flat major, Op. 2 no 6 by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: by 1779; England
10.
Sonata for Harpsichord in G major, Wo 14 by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: 1768; Dorset, England
11.
Sonatas (3) for Piano, Op. 7: no 1 in E flat major by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: by 1782; Vienna, Austria
12.
Sonatas (3) for Piano, Op. 7: no 2 in C major by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: by 1782; Vienna, Austria
13.
Sonatas (3) for Piano, Op. 7: no 3 in G minor by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: 1782; Vienna, Austria
14.
Sonatas (3) for Piano, Op. 8: no 1 in G minor by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: 1782; Vienna, Austria
15.
Sonatas (3) for Piano, Op. 8: no 2 in E flat major by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: 1782; Vienna, Austria
16.
Sonatas (3) for Piano, Op. 8: no 3 in B flat major by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: 1782; Vienna, Austria
17.
Sonata for Harpsichord in A flat major, WoO 13 "Sonata Inedita" by Muzio Clementi
Performer:
Howard Shelley (Piano)
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