The Clementi Page

We all love Clementi's pianos.  Those from the early years of the nineteenth century are particularly attractive, with their charming painted flower decorations  Properly restored they can be amongst the sweetest-sounding of all early pianos, and with light action and responsive touch, they are delightful to play.

 

          Vincenzo and Mary Johanna Clementi in Canada

 

 

It's an amazing thought that my mother could have known Muzio Clementi's daughter-in-law.  She didn't, of course, but it would have been theoretically possible.  

 

Muzio Clementi, born 1752, married Emma Gisborne in 1811, when she was 26.  Vincenzo, the first of their four children was born in June of the same year.  John, the last of the children, was born in 1819, when Muzio was 67.

Vincenzo was educated at Trinty College, Cambridge and was ordained.  We don't know when he emigrated, but he appears in the 1891 Canadian census.  He was known as Vincent to everyone except his family.   He is recorded in the census as 'widowed', but he married again to Mary Johanna, born 1837.  

 

 

 

The photograph is of Vincenzo with his two Cairn terriers, believed to be the first in Canada.

 

He was for many years vicar of All Saints Anglican church in Peterborough, Ontario.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Johannah died in 1911, when my mother was five.

With acknowledgements to Lakefield Heritage and Gord Young.

The Pianos of Muzio Clementi

 

Much has been written about Muzio Clementi the composer, but at the Finchcocks Weekend in 2013 we were privileged to welcome Leif Sahlqvist to present his work of many years on the Clementi pianos. We are especially fortunate that Leif has agreed that a PDF based on his study may be placed on this website.  It includes the long-awaited definitive list of serial numbers and dates of the pianos.  We express our grateful thanks to Leif for this.

  

  This work is freely available to all for private study, but please respect Leif's copyright, and do not use it for further publication. 

 

  As a PDF, it has the advantage over a printed paper that it will be updated from time to time, as further information becomes available.  So if you have any comments or suggestions, or particularly if you know of any Clementi pianos that are not in the lists, please let me know, email David on friends.sp@btinternet.com

 

The version below has been updated by Leif in February 2014.

  

Please click on the Icon below to download the PDF.  


Clementi Co © Leif Sahlqvist 2013.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [8.4 MB]

...and here is an updated appendix of numbers.

Clementi App 5.Rev.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [39.3 KB]
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© David Hackett