Which Instrument for Scarlatti's Music?

[Don]

My choice is the harpsichord.  Among many considerations, it's the instrument that best highlights Scarlatti's mercurial personality and sharply etched keyboard music.

[orbital]

After re-familiarizing myself with Meyer this week, modern piano for sure. Horowitz, Meyer, Tomsic, Pogorelich [in that order] have all done extraordinarily good with the modern piano.

HArpischord of course may work better from the technical point of view, but my tolerance for its sound still is capped by 3-4 sonatas in a row 

What is a tangent piano 

[Drasko]

What is a tangent piano 

Technically I have no idea but it sounds like harpsicord in bass and like fortepiano in treble.

[Don]

Technically I have no idea but it sounds like harpsicord in bass and like fortepiano in treble.

Quite right.  According to Groves' Dictionary of Musical Instruments, the strings are "struck by moving strips of wood resembling harpsichord jacks rather than hinged or pivoted hammers".

An excellent tangent piano recording is the Bach Sonatas for Viola de Gamba and Harpsichord on the BIS label; the tangent piano is played by Miklos Spanyi.

[orbital]

I should give it a listen, but form Milos' description doesn't it beat the purpose of both instruments, particularly in Bach [where, in theory at least, the voices should be more or less equal]?

[Harry]

Harpsichord of course.

[Don]

I should give it a listen, but form Milos' description doesn't it beat the purpose of both instruments, particularly in Bach [where, in theory at least, the voices should be more or less equal]?

As with all instruments, the most important factor is the performer.

[bwv 1080]

Guitar

[Don]

Guitar

Although not a keyboard instrument, I've added the guitar.  I should have from the start, given that there are a fair number of guitar recordings of his sonatas.

[PSmith08]

I prefer the IRCAM 4X machine, but - barring that, and in all seriousness - I like the harpsichord. Scott Ross makes a very cogent case for that instrument in the sonatas, and I tend to agree with his argument, such as it is, as he presents it.

[Mark]

Harpsichord. Although I'd have welcomed an option for Harp (I have a selection of 13 sonatas played on this instrument, and it makes for revealing listening).

[bwv 1080]

How about Lautenwerck?  (not that I am aware of any Scarlatti recordings)

[Symphonien]

Modern piano.

Pletnev is probably my favourite performer.

[Mark G. Simon]

Scarlatti is so much more colorful on the harpsichord. Ralph Kirkpatrick, Rafael Puyana, Luciano Sgrizzi are a few players who've done well with Scarlatti.

[Harry Collier]

Defiinitely the piano. Much of Scarlatti's music is pretty amazing, and it's good to be able to listen to it for longer than 4 minutes at a time; it needs the piano's range of colour and dynamics.

[lukeottevanger]

That depends on many factors, though. Personally, having recently got hold of the first two volumes (12 CDs) of my old piano teacher Richard Lester's new complete cycle (this is the first truly complete cycle, performed mostly on harpsichord), I find my ears suffer absolutely no fatigue even after many discs worth of listening. The music is so often so extraordinary, and Scarlatti creates so many varied textures and keeps the interest high at all times, that one could not get bored! Apart from this, I prefer the sound of harpsichord in this music in any case...

[Todd]

Harpsichord, obviously.  I'd almost say that Scarlatti is to the harpsichord what Chopin is to the piano.  That written, Scarlatti also works well on the piano. 

[Don]

I thought that there would be much stronger showing for "modern piano".  Where did all the piano mavens go?

[Mark]

I thought that there would be much stronger showing for "modern piano".  Where did all the piano mavens go?

I find modern solo piano music fatiguing after a while, whereas a nice-toned harpsichord I can listen to all day.

[Johan B]

No question...........Scarlatti is harpishord. However on a grand piano.........dynamic can build in