Piano Compositions for 2 & 4

A typical child of his time, in all he did Pleyel recognized and took advantage of the changes brought about in musical culture by music printing and increasing industrialization around 1800. Capable of composing in a sophisticated manner (even Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart praised his string quintets), he was also well aware of the tastes of the general public. Pleyel was able to write very effectively and agreeably without sacrificing quality. Using altogether conventional harmonies, he cleverly employed changes of register (which were incomparably more effective on historical pianos than on modern ones). His piano writing suits the hands extremely well, remains clear in form and loses itself in all too frequent repetitions of pleasing motifs and phrases. Pleyel wrote catchy, colorful music and knew when to end a piece.