Gradus ad Parnassum Volume 2

Composer, performer, teacher, music publisher and piano manufacturer, the Italian-English piano virtuoso Muzio Clementi stood at the vanguard of musical development in Europe. His piano sonatas influenced Beethoven with their treatment of complex harmony, structure, and texture. Clementi's Gradus ad Parnassum, a collection of 100 stylistically diverse pieces, stands as a monument to Clementi's technical and expressive mastery of the instrument. Award-winning pianist Alessandro Marangoni has been acclaimed as playing "naturally and beautifully" (ClassicsToday.com / Gradus ad Parnassum Vol. 1 / Naxos 8.572325).

"Alessandro Marangoni…is convinced that Clementi was concerned that Gradus should develop musicality, not just pianistic technique. He is determined to present these "studies" as music-as the composer's testament of a lifetime of composing and assimilating influences from the best of both the contemporary and the antique-he and the composer succeed brilliantly.

We are lucky to have Signor Marangoni as our guide on Clementi's Parnassus. Marangoni consistently finds the latent poetry and early romantic fire in these pieces (listen to No.36). Again, I eagerly look forward to the rest of the series. Recommended enthusiastically to listeners of an 18th-century "classical" or early romantic bent." (Amazon.com)