Muzio Clementi: Sämtliche Klaviersonaten Vol.2 on 2 CDs

Einen »Ciarlattano« ohne Tiefgang und Geschmack nannte ihn Mozart, und so ganz hat sich Muzio Clementi im Urteil der Nachwelt nie von dieser Schelte erholen können. Hyperion widmet Clementi nun ein ganzes Projekt, an dessen Ende seine sämtlichen Klaviersonaten gesammelt auf CD vorliegen werden. Clementis Sonaten entfalten ihren Zauber erst dann, wenn sie einfühlsam gespielt werden: Und wie man das macht, zeigt der britische Pianist Howard Shelley eindrucksvoll in der hier vorliegenden zweiten Folge der Gesamteinspielung.

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This is the second volume in a complete chronological survey of the Clementi sonatas which we hope to complete in six ’2 for the price of 1’ double CD sets released over the next three years. After the somewhat frivolous delights of Volume 1, Volume 2 displays Clementi in more serious and weighty form. The selection recorded here, particularly the Op 12 sonatas, is of pieces that begin to reveal depths of expression seldom encountered in the composer’s earlier music.

Muzio Clementi was for much of his long career one of the most famous musicians in Europe. Around the turn of the nineteenth century his public esteem was probably second only to that of Haydn, and, a decade or so later, Beethoven. But unlike the reputations of these other two, Clementi’s fame as a musician rested almost solely upon his exploits, as both player and composer, at a single instrument, the piano. And the vast majority of his compositions are sonatas for that instrument. This is a fascinating body of work which spans European musical life from Scarlatti to Chopin.

Rezensionen

'As in Vol 1 of his Clementi cycle, Howard Shelley's crystalline touch, poised elegance at speed and (in the slow movements) gentle flexibility are well nigh ideal' (Gramophone)

'These soul-searching works are rendered with profound feeling and sensitivity by Shelley, a worthy Clementi champion for our age' (The Observer)

'Shelley has no problem meeting Clementi's demands, and he tosses off all the works here with elegant virtuosity' (BBC Music Magazine)