Page 134 - (DK) The Classical Music Book - Big Ideas Simply Explained
P. 134
132
THE OBJECT OF THE
PIANO IS TO SUBSTITUTE
ONE PERFORMER FOR A
WHOLE ORCHESTRA
PIANO SONATA IN F-SHARP MINOR, OP. 25, NO. 5
(1790), MUZIO CLEMENTI
he development of the became commonplace. Composers
IN CONTEXT instrumental sonata also began structuring their music
T mirrored a change in the into large-scale arcs called sonatas,
FOCUS function of music in the Classical which allowed the audience to
The instrumental sonata
period. Music was no longer an experience a more varied musical
BEFORE accompaniment to dance or prayer journey. Anglo-Italian composer
1758 Domenico Scarlatti but a focus in its own right, and Muzio Clementi was an important
publishes his 30 Essercizi per composers thus worked to find innovator in this evolving structure,
Gravicembalo, which form new ways to engage the audience. his Sonata in F-sharp minor being
part of his more than 500 With the rise in popularity of the a prime example of the form.
sonatas for keyboard. newly invented piano, one way
of achieving this was through the
1771 Joseph Haydn drama of juxtaposing loud and soft A Clementi & Co. square piano
from London, where Clementi’s
specifically names a piano passages, which had not been piano manufacturing company
piece a “sonata” rather than possible on the harpsichord. This flourished in the early 18th century.
a divertimento.
AFTER
1818 Beethoven completes
his Hammerklavier Sonata,
Op. 106, which takes the
sonata to new heights of
complexity and virtuosity.
1853 Franz Liszt writes his
piano Sonata in B minor and
redefines the genre for the
Romantic age.
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