Page "Muzio Clementi" Paragraph 14

Interestingly, Mozart used the opening motif of Clementi's B-flat major sonata ( Op.

24, No. 2 ) in his overture for " Die Zauberflöte.

" It was not unusual for composers to borrow from one another, and this might be considered a compliment.

Though Clementi noted in subsequent publications of his sonata that it had been written ten years before Mozart's opera — presumably to make clear who was borrowing from whom — Clementi retained an admiration for Mozart, as reflected in the large number of transcriptions he made of Mozart's music, among which is a piano solo version of the " Zauberflöte " overture.