Six Sonatas for the Pianoforte or Harpsichord with an Accompanyment for a German Flute or Violin ... Opera II. Pr. 10sh = 6d. [Score]
- London: Welcker, 1779
London: Welcker, 1779. Oblong folio. Disbound. 1f. (recto title, verso blank), [i] (blank), 2-45, [i] (blank) pp. Engraved throughout.
Sonatas II, IV, and VI scored for solo keyboard; Sonata I scored for keyboard and violin (with double stops); Sonatas III and V scored for keyboard and treble instrument (the score calls for flute or violin).
Slightly worn; several chips to blank edges of first two leaves; very small tears to lower blank margins of pp. 2 and 38 repaired with archival tape; old tape repair to blank lower margin of pp. 17/18; final leaf nearly detached. First Edition. Rare. Tyson p. 36. BUC p. 198. OCLC 243745071 (one copy only in the U.S., at the Folger Shakespeare Library). RISM C2724 (three copies in total, with one copy only in the U.S., at UC Berkeley).
"Although Op. 2 is described on its original title-page as 'six sonatas for the piano forte or harpsichord with an accompanyment for a German flute or violin,' the 2nd, 4th and 6th are in fact for keyboard instrument alone, and it is these which gave the opus its astonishing reputation: no. 2 in C (the 'celebrated octave lesson'), no. 4 in A and no. 6 in B. flat. Several revised versions of these sonatas were published by Clementi." Tyson: Muzio Clementi Thematic Catalogue, p. 14.
Clementi was an "English composer, keyboard player and virtuoso, teacher, music publisher, entrepreneur, and piano manufacturer of Italian birth. ... [His] name was seen in concert programmes with increasing frequency in 1779-80, no doubt partly owing to the popularity of his sonatas op. 2, first published by Welcker in spring 1779. That Clementi was playing these pieces in public, particularly the 'octave lesson' op. 2 no. 2, is suggested by an entry in the satirical musical lexicon ABC Dario Musico (Bath, 1780):
'Clementi. An Italian. Has composed some sets of lessons, which abound in passages so peculiar and difficult, that it is evident they must have been practised for years preceding their publication. We particularly allude to the succession of octaves with which he has crammed his lessons. Mr. C. executes these exceedingly well, and is a most brilliant performer.' " Leon Plantinga, revised by Luca Lévi Sala in Grove Music Online
The first edition of a rare set of piano sonatas influential in the development of the form.
Sonatas II, IV, and VI scored for solo keyboard; Sonata I scored for keyboard and violin (with double stops); Sonatas III and V scored for keyboard and treble instrument (the score calls for flute or violin).
Slightly worn; several chips to blank edges of first two leaves; very small tears to lower blank margins of pp. 2 and 38 repaired with archival tape; old tape repair to blank lower margin of pp. 17/18; final leaf nearly detached. First Edition. Rare. Tyson p. 36. BUC p. 198. OCLC 243745071 (one copy only in the U.S., at the Folger Shakespeare Library). RISM C2724 (three copies in total, with one copy only in the U.S., at UC Berkeley).
"Although Op. 2 is described on its original title-page as 'six sonatas for the piano forte or harpsichord with an accompanyment for a German flute or violin,' the 2nd, 4th and 6th are in fact for keyboard instrument alone, and it is these which gave the opus its astonishing reputation: no. 2 in C (the 'celebrated octave lesson'), no. 4 in A and no. 6 in B. flat. Several revised versions of these sonatas were published by Clementi." Tyson: Muzio Clementi Thematic Catalogue, p. 14.
Clementi was an "English composer, keyboard player and virtuoso, teacher, music publisher, entrepreneur, and piano manufacturer of Italian birth. ... [His] name was seen in concert programmes with increasing frequency in 1779-80, no doubt partly owing to the popularity of his sonatas op. 2, first published by Welcker in spring 1779. That Clementi was playing these pieces in public, particularly the 'octave lesson' op. 2 no. 2, is suggested by an entry in the satirical musical lexicon ABC Dario Musico (Bath, 1780):
'Clementi. An Italian. Has composed some sets of lessons, which abound in passages so peculiar and difficult, that it is evident they must have been practised for years preceding their publication. We particularly allude to the succession of octaves with which he has crammed his lessons. Mr. C. executes these exceedingly well, and is a most brilliant performer.' " Leon Plantinga, revised by Luca Lévi Sala in Grove Music Online
The first edition of a rare set of piano sonatas influential in the development of the form.
Details
Title
Six Sonatas for the Pianoforte or Harpsichord with an Accompanyment for a German Flute or Violin ... Opera II. Pr. 10sh = 6d. [Score]
Author
CLEMENTI, Muzio 1752-1832
Condition
Unknown
Publisher
Welcker: London
Date
1779