Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)

[SonicMan46]

I took a look at this Warner set a while back but really did not have a strong conviction for having a 33-CD Scarlatti's Complete Harpsichord Works................ Perhaps I will change my mind ...   

Stuart - I'm in the same 'frame of mind', i.e. who needs 555 Scarlatti sonatas?    But, OTOH, if the performances are great and the PRICE is right, then why not?  At the moment for me, the price is just not right - might be in the future?  Dave 

[Coopmv]

Stuart - I'm in the same 'frame of mind', i.e. who needs 555 Scarlatti sonatas?    But, OTOH, if the performances are great and the PRICE is right, then why not?  At the moment for me, the price is just not right - might be in the future?  Dave 

Currently, the best price on Amazon US is $168.  While I would not have any hesitation if it was the complete Bach Cantatas set by the right conductor/ensemble, spending that amount on the complete Scarlatti harpsichord works would have been a bit far-fetched for me as well.

[DarkAngel]

Stuart - I'm in the same 'frame of mind', i.e. who needs 555 Scarlatti sonatas?    But, OTOH, if the performances are great and the PRICE is right, then why not?  At the moment for me, the price is just not right - might be in the future?  Dave 

MDT seems to be best price at $111, I got this at huge Xmas boxset sale there for $90 

Amazon USA much higher......

If I can again emphasize (Que will back me up) there is no filler here, all these sonatas are very good even the earliest ones and Scott Ross set will almost certainly never be bettered (don't think Hantai, Rousset etc have the time or energy to undertake a massive project like this today) this is the gold standard set

[Coopmv]

MDT seems to be best price at $111, I got this at huge Xmas boxset sale there for $90 

Amazon USA much higher......

If I can again emphasize (Que will back me up) there is no filler here, all these sonatas are very good even the earliest ones and Scott Ross set will almost certainly never be bettered (don't think Hantai, Rousset etc have the time or energy to undertake a massive project like this today) this is the gold standard set

The best bet is still to wait for a good sale at Presto since this box set will cost quite a bit to ship from MDT compared with the flat rate at Presto ...

[jlaurson]

Actually, the best price is (or was) 75 Quid (Pounds) on Amazon.co.uk. That's when I could no longer resist. Am on disc 7 now. Very solid, very good... and yes, better, from my thus-far limited exposure, than Belder and Lester. Even at 82 Pounds it's a pretty good catch. I don't think Hantai will record the whole shabang, either... I do believe that might be excessive, anyway. I'm glad if great harpsichordists (and pianists) keep picking their favorites [preferably not always the same ones] and give them thoughtful renderings.

And for those who do like their Scarlatti on the piano (and not necessarily 31 discs of it), here's good news:

Alexandre Tharaud's next disc will be Scarlatti.

Great news, because just before he was giving his seventh (!) encore at the Theatre des Champs Elysees, as I was reflecting on modest Schubert, very fine Chopin, and great Bach, Couperin, and Rameau encores, I caught myself thinking: If his next five discs were all Scarlatti, I'd be a happy, happy man. Sure enough, somewhere between the Oysters and the grilled Sole he mentioned that that'd be his next recording. Sweet.

[Que]

If I can again emphasize (Que will back me up) there is no filler here, all these sonatas are very good even the earliest ones (...)

Absolutely! In that respect Scarlatti's sonatas are as "daunting" as Bach's cantatas: both are a vast body of superb music, which might be a bit off-putting.

Q

[jlaurson]

And for those who do like their Scarlatti on the piano (and not necessarily 31 discs of it), here's good news:

Alexandre Tharaud's next disc will be Scarlatti.

the little essay from which the announcement comes:
Paris in Passing

[The new erato]

Stuart - I'm in the same 'frame of mind', i.e. who needs 555 Scarlatti sonatas?   

I'm long past the "needs" stage and will probably order it.

[Antoine Marchand]

Scarlatti is not frequently played on fortepiano -at the moment I just recall Aline Zylberajch and Pieter-Jan Belder-, but THIS double-disc of Laura Alvini sounds attractive in these ears:

[Que]

Scarlatti is not frequently played on fortepiano -at the moment I just recall Aline Zylberajch and Pieter-Jan Belder-, but THIS double-disc of Laura Alvini sounds attractive in these ears:

I agree - what a beautiful instrument! Nice playing too, perhaps a bit on the slow side but that might need getting used too.

Q

[prémont]

Scarlatti is not frequently played on fortepiano -at the moment I just recall Aline Zylberajch and Pieter-Jan Belder-, but THIS double-disc of Laura Alvini sounds attractive in these ears:

Alan Planes has recorded K 1 - K30 incl. on a Harmonia Mundi twoofer.

[jlaurson]

Alan Planes has recorded K 1 - K30 incl. on a Harmonia Mundi twoofer.

so he did, and it's not half-bad: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2005/06/twang-twang-twang-scarlatti-with-alain.html

[Antoine Marchand]

Alan Planes has recorded K 1 - K30 incl. on a Harmonia Mundi twoofer.

Yes, I forgot that one, probably because I was not very impressed by Planes. On the other hand, I fully enjoyed the interpretations by Aline Zylberajch (pianoforte) and Joanna Leach (English square piano of the XIX century), although the last instrument don't be exactly an instrument of the period.   

[prémont]

Yes, I forgot that one, probably because I was not very impressed by Planes.

IMO he is to nice and decent, but I forgive him, because Scarlatti on fortepiano (and to lesser degree on pianoforte) acquires easily a Dresden-China-like character.

[Antoine Marchand]

IMO he is to nice and decent, but I forgive him, because Scarlatti on fortepiano (and to lesser degree on pianoforte) acquires easily a Dresden-China-like character.

"Decent" is fine for me (I think something similar about his last disc Chopin chez Pleyel). But what means "Dresden-China-like character"? I don't understand the concept, sorry.

[jlaurson]

"Decent" is fine for me (I think something similar about his last disc Chopin chez Pleyel). But what means "Dresden-China-like character"? I don't understand the concept, sorry.

It's a dainty way of playing the piano (often disparagingly used about someone's approach to Mozart, for example). It means 'afraid of touching with any grit or bite, because it is ever-so delicate. 'Emaciated' might have some overlap with that concept.

[Antoine Marchand]

It's a dainty way of playing the piano (often disparagingly used about someone's approach to Mozart, for example). It means 'afraid of touching with any grit or bite, because it is ever-so delicate. 'Emaciated' might have some overlap with that concept.

Thanks, Jens. It's crystal clear now.

[prémont]

But what means "Dresden-China-like character"? I don't understand the concept, sorry.

This concept is often used to describe an all too feminine "miniaturizing" interpretation of Mozarts music. I hear some not quite unsimilar pling-pling in Planes´ Scarlatti. He should generally have been more virile and bold in these works.

[karlhenning]

Let's start a proper thread belonging to Domenico Scarlatti.  (I am, bluntly, appalled that the only thread to which Sara's eminently useful index can point us to, is one of Sean's exercises in bloviation.)

At odd times, I feel almost a desire to make the acquaintance of all the keyboard sonatas.  Some little time ago, I found a 3-fer at Borders (back when they had some selection) of Pieter-Jan Belder (playing variously harpsichord, organ, and fortepiano).  This past November (I think) Amazon advertised the box of Belder playing the complete Sonatas (though I don't suppose there is any such thing, really . . . complete?) at a bargain, but time passed and it was never available and they canceled my order.  The 3-fer I've already got is Vol. VIII, and this week I found more such on Arkivmusic, so I've pulled the trigger on Vols. IX, X & XI.  Chances are, these 12 discs of sonatas will last me fine for a while.

But maybe not forever.

Anybody here at GMG know The Lot?

I have a single disc of (I think) Sergei Schepkin playing an assortment of sonatas, on piano; it's a disc I like very well, but for the long haul, I think I do prefer an instrument of lighter tread . . . especially in the case of some sonatas which feel to me like translated guitar music.

[PaulSC]

One of my favorite composers since childhood! I received the complete Longo edition in installations, over a series of birthdays and Christmases.  Not the most scholarly edition, I know, and not quite complete, but I spent hours on end playing through these pieces (on piano) and they'll always be special to me.

I think the sonatas translate really well to the piano, and there are glorious performances by Pletnev, Pogorelich, Sudbin, and Horowitz – and worthwhile efforts by the likes of Schiff, Swartzentrubzer, and Fou Ts'Ong. But ultimately I agree – the sonatas come alive on harpsichord. Pierre Hantaï's recordings thrill me, and there is a Trevor Pinnock disc that I enjoy a great deal.

I would love to get my hands on Scott Ross's complete Scarlatti cycle, having heard such great things about it. I was not excited by the Belder I sampled – it seemed generally aloof and low-energy. But in a way Scarlatti and Belder share the blame: Scarlatti wrote maybe 50 to 75 masterpiece-level sonatas, and another 200 or so that are well worth playing and hearing. That's a remarkable achievement, but it leaves hundreds of others that go on a bit long despite moments of inspiration. So it's almost inevitable in the course of a complete cycle that sooner or later a sense of "just getting through them all" kicks in. A complete cycle might still be a worthwhile purchase (I noted earlier my interest in the Ross), if you approach it with the intent of "mining" it for its best tracks, of which there might be a hundred or more.

Anyway, don't let your pursuit of a complete cycle prevent you from hearing the Hantaï discs, especially the 3 relatively recent releases; there's a less essential earlier disc that overlaps the repertoire of those later ones.