As a boy he was taught the violin by Antonín Kammel, and later by Wilhelm Cramer, leader of the Italian Opera orchestra at the King's Theatre.
He was already studying the piano under Clementi to equip himself as a teacher, and though he continued to play the viola for the Prince of Wales he lived almost entirely by teaching until 1820 when he retired.
1791-1802 : From 1791 to 1793 Muzio Clementi's position as a composer suffered greatly from the presence of Haydn in London.
Only after Haydn's return to Vienna in 1793 did Clementi once again fully resume his activities, even as an orchestral conductor.
In the meantime, however, the number of his private pupils grew: apart from Cramer and others, they included John Field, Benoît-Auguste Bertini, Miss Parke, Arthur Thomas Corfe, Benjamin Blake, Mme.