Clementi was perhaps a predecessor to Liszt as a great piano-oriented composer who turned out as well to be a fine handler of the orchestra. Clementi`s skills in orchestration are still in the process of coming clear, but the present symphony can serve as an admirable introduction to them.

Few of Clementi's symphonies survive today. The two symphonies of Op. 18 were issued in 1787, with four more following shortly thereafter (these exist only in fragments). However, these earlier symphonies barely contain a hint of Clementi`s later orchestral style. The present "Symphony No. 1" was one of four late symphonies composed between 1810 and 1824. Its larghetto introduction opens with a stormy swell that brings on a more pleasant theme. Even here, we begin to feel the stirrings of complexity in orchestration. But, once the slow introduction fades into the powerful opening theme for full orchestra, the listener realizes just what Clementi hopes to accomplish here. There is no attempt to fake the listener: this movement will be an orchestral tour de force, and this is made very clear right from the start. The main theme of the first movement travels through most all the instruments of the orchestra, and in general every instrument is used to its utmost capacity, from timpani to first violins.

The second movement is a playful Andante con moto; again, its main theme becomes the plaything of various sections throughout. The Minuet and Trio movement opens with an orchestral fanfare that becomes a brief joyride for woodwind sections, with strings supplementing the sound in the background. The final movement gives a new feeling right off the bat, very similar to that of the finale of Mozart's "Jupiter" symphony; Clementi makes this Allegro vivace build itself through several dynamic episodes of thematic material. It finally winds down to an ending that shows something of its nineteenth-century surroundings.

© Joshua Lilly, All Music Guide