The Intellectual Circle of Muzio Clementi in London: A Contribution to His Biography

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the relationship that the musician Muzio Clementi had with the intellectuals of his period in England. The most significant connection stems from his friendship with the writer Thomas Holcroft and the philosopher William Godwin. From the analysis of documents, recently published studies and their comparison with different testimonies about the musician, the article aims to make a contribution to the biography of Clementi based on his interactions with the thinkers of the period, which had an effect on his personality and his professional activity as a musician. It becomes clear that as well as being an exceptional musician he was also an intellectual with an enlightened mind who played a part in the ideas that were provoking great changes in Europe, in his case through music.