Larghetto (after Pleyel)
Muzio Clementi (1801)
Description
A piece after Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831), a pupil of Haydn and one of the most published composers in Europe at the time. He later founded a piano firm in Paris that would build the instruments Chopin favoured — which also made him a competitor of Clementi, who manufactured pianos himself.
In G major and cut time: 422 notes, around ninety seconds of slow music. Larghetto is a shade quicker than largo, and this piece flows calmly rather than sinking. The melody sings with ornaments while the left hand holds its accompanying pattern.
A beginner piece. In slow music the left hand's accompaniment easily turns monotonous — yet even a repeated figure changes in weight where the harmony moves. Hear those points and shade them, and the accompaniment becomes part of the music rather than its background. Do not hurry the right hand's ornaments; keep them inside the line of the melody.
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 →