Clementi's success as a performer, teacher, composer, music publisher and piano manufacturer made him an important figure in the history of piano music and the development of the piano itself. In the present issue, Peter Katin, a recent convert to the square piano, plays an instrument manufactured by Clementi's own firm in 1832 and his carefully chosen programme amply demonstrates Clementi's broad range of musical and expressive style. Katin's delicate control and closely observed phrasing in the F sharp minor Sonata Op. 25 No. 5, which culminates in impressive double thirds in the finale, offer clear evidence of his enthusiasm both for Clementi's music and the specific timbral qualities of the instrument itself. The wide emotional range in the sonatas is nowhere more striking than in the darkly expressive F minor Sonata Op. 13 No. 6 and the cheerfully exuberant D major Sonata Op. 25 No. 6. In the G minor Sonata Op. 7 No. 3, Katin is eloquent in his expression of the widely diverse motivic material of the opening Allegro to show Clementi's skill at maximizing dramatic contrast within a single movement.
Occasionally Katin's more subtle differentiation of tempos between the outer movements and the slower central movement, such as in the B flat major Sonata, Op. 24 No. 2 results in a loss of excitement, despite successfully identifying and revealing links within the sonata. Compare Jos van Immerseel's recording of the same piece which has far more sparkle, and is more atmospherically recorded. Nevertheless, Katin is more generous with repeats and offers five sonatas instead of only four from Immerseel.'