Domenico Scarlatti - Keyboard Sonatas (András Schiff)

Information

Composer: Domenico Scarlatti

1. Sonata in A minor, K. 175: Allegro
2. Sonata in C major, K. 513 "Pastorale": Moderato - Molto allegro - Presto
3. Sonata in E minor, K. 402: Andante
4. Sonata in E major, K. 403: Allegro
5. Sonata in G major, K. 144: Cantabile
6. Sonata in C minor, K. 115: Allegro
7. Sonata in C minor, K. 116: Allegro
8. Sonata in E flat major, K. 474: Andante e cantabile
9. Sonata in E flat major, K. 475: Allegrissimo
10. Sonata in G major, K. 449: Allegro
11. Sonata in G minor, K. 450: Allegrissimo
12. Sonata in B flat major, K. 544: Cantabile
13. Sonata in B flat major, K. 545: Prestissimo
14. Sonata in D minor, K. 516: Allegretto
15. Sonata in D minor, K. 517: Prestissimo

András Schiff, piano
Date: 1987
Label: Decca
http://www.deccaclassics.com/us/cat/4214222

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Review

A refreshing selection, starting with the A minor Sonata (Kk175) and its evocations of the guitar to remind us that all Scarlatti's maturer years were spent in Spain. And how apt to follow it with the extended C major Pastorale (Kk513), in which the composer returns in imagination to his homeland at Christmas time when (as Howard Ferguson's helpful note tells us) shepherds come down from the hills with their pifferari. Avoiding the over familiar, and always with a smooth progression of keys for the listener who wants to listen to the whole recital straight off, Schiff subsequently proceeds (except for the solitary G major Cantabile, Kk144) with pairs of adjacent works in the same key (major or minor) as if in support of Kirkpatrick's belief that Scarlatti himself conceived them for performance in this way. 

Schiff makes no attempt to pretend that his instrument is anything other than a present-day grand piano. Nor does he ever allow you to forget that Scarlatti had a heart—as do some worshippers at the shrine of period style. But his tone and texture are as translucent as his ornamentation is deft. Incidentally, he plays all repeats, in slower tempo sometimes adding little extra embellishments of his own the second time to enrich the text—as in the searchingly chromatic B flat Sonata (Kk544). He is never more confiding than in the E minor Andante (Kk402), even making its companion in E major (Kk403) more thoughtful than some players might in view of its allegro marking. I also much enjoyed his romantically imaginative response to the strongly atmospheric Kk516 in D minor. Always the emphasis is on what lies behind the notes rather than mere keyboard play, though it goes without saying that Schiff's nimble fingers never fail him in more extrovert prestissimo or allegrissimo contexts.

The recording, made in Walthamstow Town Hall, allows you to feel that you are sitting right at the player's side rather than far away in the stalls. But its full, close warmth is achieved without any loss of clarity. All in all a welcome change from the harpsichords which have largely taken over Scarlatti in the CD catalogue up till now. [3/1989]

-- Joan Chissell, Gramophone

More reviews:

http://www.classical-music.com/review/scarlatti-21

http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/scarlatti-keyboard-sonatas-mr0002130377

http://www.amazon.com/15-Sonatas-Scarlatti/dp/B0000041UC

http://www.amazon.com/Scarlatti-Keyboard-Sonatas-Domenico/dp/B000FG5PI6

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Domenico Scarlatti (Naples, 26 October 1685 – Madrid, 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style and he was one of the few Baroque composers to transition into the classical period. Like his renowned father Alessandro Scarlatti, he composed in a variety of musical forms, although today he is known mainly for his 555 keyboard sonatas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domenico_Scarlatti

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András Schiff (born 21 December 1953 in Budapest) is a Hungarian-born classical pianist and conductor. Schiff is one of the most renowned interpreters of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann. He has received numerous major awards and honors, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in her 2014 Birthday Honours for services to music. Being a outspoken critic of Hungarian government, he stated in 2012 that he would never again set foot in his native country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A1s_Schiff

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