Background of Composition

Piano four-hands is a genre that began to develop around the time the piano started to become widespread. It is said that the main reason for this was that harpsichords, or earlier keyboard instruments, had a narrow range and were too small for two people to play side-by-side (although a small number of four-hand pieces themselves existed from the 16th century).

In the 1770s, many composers, including Mozart and his teacher Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782), began to write sonatas for piano four-hands one after another. Amidst this trend, Clementi published his first four-hand work, Three Duets, Op. 3, in 1779. In the same year, he performed a four-hand piece in concert with his friend, the musician William Dance (1755–1840).

Most four-hand pieces written at the time were technically simple, assuming they would be played by young ladies from good families. However, Clementi's work is highly noteworthy, as it appears to be intended for collaboration between virtuosos, featuring fast passages played simultaneously by two players, and interplay using thirds and broken octaves, which were still rare performance techniques at the time.

The first edition was published in Paris in 1780. Later, around 1790, this piece was included in a private edition published by Clementi in London as "correct editions," reprinting older works he had published in various countries. Compared to the first edition, the texture is slightly thicker in parts.

Dedicated to Countess Sayn-Wittgenstein.