t no one could play till he
knew Clementi by heart. He adopted many of the peculiar figures and
combinations original with Clementi, though his musical mentality,
incomparably richer and greater than that of the other, transfigured
them into a new life. That Beethoven found novel means of expression
to satisfy the importunate demands of his musical conceptions; that his
piano works display a greater polyphony, stronger contrasts, bolder
and richer rhythm, broader design and execution, by no means impair
the value of his obligations to Clementi, obligations which the most
arrogant and self-centered of men freely allowed. Beethoven's fancy was
penetrated by all the qualities of tone which distinguish the string,
reed, and brass instruments; his imagination shot through and through
with orchestral color; and he succeeded in saturating his sonatas with
these rich effects without sacrificing the specialty of the piano-forte.
But in general style and technique he is distinctly a follower of
Clementi. The most unique and splendid personality in music has thus
been singled out as furnishing a vivid illustration of the influence
exerted by Clementi in the department of the piano-forte.

Clementi lived to the age of eighty, and spent the last twelve years of
his life in London uninterruptedly, his growing feebleness preventing
him from taking his usual musical trips to the Continent. He retained
his characteristic energy and freshness of mind to the last, and
was held in the highest honor by the great circle of artists who had
centered in London, for he was the musical patriarch in England, as
Cherubini was in France at a little later date. He was married three
times, had children in his old age, and only a few months before
his death, Moscheles records in his diary, he was able to arouse the
greatest enthusiasm by the vigor and brilliancy of his playing, in spite
of his enfeebled physical powers. He died March 9, 1832, at Eversham,
and his funeral gathered a great convocation of musical celebrities. His
life covered an immense arch in the history of music.

At his birth Handel was alive; at his death Beethoven, Schubert,
and Weber had found refuge in the grave from the ingratitude of a
contemporary public. He began his career by practicing Scarlatti's
harpsichord sonatas; he lived to be acquainted with the finest
piano-forte works of all time. When he first used the piano, he
practiced on the imperfect and feeble Silbermann ins