Clementi was the eldest son of a Roman silversmith who was also
a keen amateur musician. By the age of seven he was receiving
organ lessons, and in open competition with adults was appointed
the local church organist. At the age of 14 he went to study in
England, after the Englishman Peter Beckford heard him play and
was impressed enough to become his patron. Clementi made his first
London appearance in 1775. In 1779 he published his six Piano
sonatas Opus 2; these established the piano sonata as distinct
from the harpsichord sonata and made Clementi's reputation.
In 1781 he visited Europe and was astonished in France by the
excitement his work generated. He engaged in public competition
with other pianists, including the famous "piano duel" with
Mozart, in which each player improvised upon his own compositions.
Neither was declared outright winner: Mozart considered Clementi
"a Charlatan - like all Italians", while Clementi was more
gracious about Mozart's gifts.
Clementi continued his travels in Europe and wrote more sonatas
(his final tally was over 100). 13y adding a third movement to the
two that were typical of the Italian style, Clementi brought the
sonata to a new level of development. He settled in
London in spring 1785 and remained there for the next 20 years,
re-establishing old links with the Hanover Concert series and
enjoying rising status as a soloist and conductor. He turned his
attentions to composing symphonies, but his works suffered from
comparison with those of the hugely revered Haydn, who visited
London in 1791 and probably contributed to Clementi's lack of
success. None of his own efforts was published during his
lifetime.
In 1802, by now a partner in a successful piano manufacturing
business, Cleincnti took his ex-pupil John Field on a tour of
Europe to promote pianos. Field remained in St Petersburg while
Clementi continued travelling. In 1810 he returned to London,
continuing to prove himself a shrewd businessman. Approaching 60,
he married Emma Gisborne, with whom he had four children. He
continued to compose and in 1813 joined the board of the
Philharmonic Society. He made visits abroad in pursuit of a wider
audience for his symphonies, but by now the Continent was
enraptured by Beethoven — some of whose works Clementi published.
In 1817 Clementi began Gradus ad
Parnassum, a volume of
studies and five-finger exercises still in use today as a piano
tutor and responsible for dementi's influence on generations of
pianists (although Debussy parodied him m his piano piece
Dr Gradus ad Parnassum).
He retired to
Evesham m Worcestershire and died after a short illness at the age
of 80.
