Clementi: Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 40, No. 2

Mozart dubbed him 'mere mechanicus' and with that musical curse, Clementi was, for long, doomed to piano student exercises and the occasional sonata movement for examinations. Yet, he had a remarkable career in London, where he settled for most of his life and was fiscally in far better shape than Mozart, with whom he once competed. One of the first pianists to change the Clementi trend was American-born Lamar Crowson, best known as pianist with The Melos Ensemble of London. In 1968 he recorded two LPs of Clementi Sonatas for L'Oiseau-Lyre and this is their first release on CD. In more recent times, several present-day pianists have championed his sonatas.

"Lamar Crowson plays splendidly. He is accurate, fleet of finger, as expressive as the music allows and always decisive ... Clementi clearly has a powerful advocate in Mr. Crowson." Gramophone.

Howard Shelley’s series of Clementi’s Piano Sonatas has received the highest critical acclaim and reawoken interest in this important body of piano music. Today, the composer has been overshadowed by his great rivals; but, as this unique series has shown, the best of his sonatas can equal Mozart and Haydn and were clearly a huge influence on the young Beethoven.

This sixth and final volume contains some of the most complex, virtuosic and large-scale works that Clementi wrote for the keyboard, written for performance in London concert halls, by the great pianists of the day, for a fashionable and discerning audience.

Albert Wong was aged 11 at the time of the recording in 2001.

The final volume of Brilliant Classics’ acclaimed Clementi series, this release is dedicated to the composer’s last and most mature works for pianoforte: the Sonatas Opp. 40, 46 and 50, and the 12 Monferrinas Op.49.

The works embrace a period of around 20 years and were a major landmark within Clementi’s output. Slow introductions abound, and although Opp. 40 and 50 were composed separately, it is highly likely that the latter was intended as a sequel to the former because of their shared stylistic detail. From Op.40 No.1’s formal experimentation to the quasi‐orchestral writing of Op.50 No.3, the compilation also includes various homages – most notably Op.46, whose high level of virtuosity comprises a fitting tribute to the great pianist Friedrich Kalkbrenner. Maestro Costantino Mastroprimiano is once again our guide, creating an absorbing programme that effectively encapsulates the achievements of Clementi’s distinguished career.