Muzio Clementi

Muzio Clementi (1752-1832), Italian composer and highly celebrated piano virtuoso, one of the greatest piano teachers of his era, and an important piano manufacturer. Born in Rome, he studied music in Wiltshire, England, from 1766 to 1770; he then moved to London, where he taught piano, performed, and established his piano manufacturing business and a music-publishing house. As a composer he is best known for his études Gradus ad Parnassum (Steps to Parnassus, 1817), a series of 100 studies that are still used for teaching the piano. He also composed several symphonies and many sonatas and sonatinas for the piano. Stylistically, Clementi's music belongs to the Classical era (which lasted from about 1750 to 1820). His students included the Irish composer John Field and the German-French composer Giacomo Meyerbeer.