Mozart and Clementi were contemporaries, but that doesn’t
mean they got along with one another. On Christmas Eve, 1781, they met in a
duel arranged by Franz Joseph II. Clementi began by playing a sonata that he
had composed. Mozart responded by playing improvised variations of Clementi’s
theme. Then Mozart played a sonata of his own making, and Clementi followed
with variations of Mozart’s sonata. Then the prince presented these musical
giants with a new theme and asked them each to turn it into a piano composition on
the spot. They concocted fugues and waltzes with variations in major and minor
keys. The prince declared the competition a draw, but both composers claimed that
Mozart was the winner. I’ve always imagined this was because Clementi was
raised to be excruciatingly polite and Mozart knew only how to be excruciating.
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