Description
The finale of the first of Clementi's Six Sonatinas, Op. 36. He assembled the set for teaching, raising the scale and the technical demands step by step from the easy first sonatina onward, and this brisk Vivace is what closes that first one.
In C major and 3/8, it returns from the F major of the middle movement to the home key and dashes through on a lightly springing beat. The theme comes back in rondo fashion, and because the short 3/8 bars go by so quickly the music feels faster than its note count suggests — a little over 470 notes across about a minute.
The task is not to lose the beat inside the speed. Bars in 3/8 are short, and counting each one separately chops the line into fragments; feeling two bars as a single unit lets the phrases join up. Keep the left-hand accompaniment light and choose a tempo at which the right hand does not stumble. Making a contrast with the middle movement does more for the music than playing this one fast.
Compact piano works that teach sonata form on a smaller scale, often used as a stepping stone toward full-length sonatas.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
What this piece teaches
The goal of this path: the finale of the same sonatina, a Vivace in C major in 3/8. Scales and broken chords, evenly, at a lively pace - your first sonatina movement finished.
How to practise it
- Start at 0.5x and creep the speed up only as far as the notes stay even.
- Feel each bar of 3/8 as a single beat and the quick tempo will not get heavy.
- From here, the Burgmüller path takes you through more techniques, one piece at a time.
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 →