Adagio (after Haydn)
Muzio Clementi (1801)
Description
A piece after Joseph Haydn. In 1801, when Clementi published this method, Haydn was alive and the most celebrated composer in Europe; he had visited London twice in the 1790s to present symphonies and had been received rapturously there. Using contemporary music as teaching material was possible because of ground like that.
In G major and cut time: 350 notes, about fifty seconds of slow music. Unusually for this collection the subject is song rather than speed, and ornaments are written into the right-hand melody. The left hand places its chords quietly and does nothing but support.
A beginner piece. A slow piece is easy if the aim is only to find the notes, but the handling of time shows directly. The ornaments are not decorations to be played quickly; they are part of the melody and must sing. Whether you can wait for a note to finish sounding changes the whole impression of this short piece.
A piano method Clementi published in 1801, comprising 50 lessons that arrange famous Baroque and Classical works for solo piano.
Browse all songs in Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Piano Forte Op.42 →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)
Muzio Clementi was born in Rome and moved to England while still young, building a career in London as a pianist, composer, and instrument manufacturer. Often called the "father of the pianoforte," he wrote the study collection Gradus ad Parnassum and numerous sonatinas that remain staples of piano pedagogy. This site includes pieces from his Op. 42 tutor, built on "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" and melodies by Haydn and Mozart, along with movements from the Sonatina, Op. 36, No. 1.
View all works by Clementi →