Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)

[Wakefield]

And Gilbert Rowland and Richard Lester.

Two or three days ago, I thought: it would be great if Skip Sempé recorded a substantial part of these sonatas.

It was after to listen to this disk:

[asin]B000PHWDBC[/asin]

[jlaurson]

Well, I know I really loved the sonata I've heard (I can't even remember offhand which one it was), and it was on a harpsichord.  I believe Ross is the only one to record the complete catalogue (550 sonatas?).

I should probably hold back the reins a bit. 

Ross, Lester, Belder are the three complete cycles on harpsichord; another was abandoned 2/3 or so into the project. There are two on piano nearing completion this year and Naxos has a mixed-pianist cycle on piano(s), too, that will eventually be completed. Ross, for harpsichord, reigns supreme very easily over Lester and Belder; I'm not sure if Rowland is complete, certainly that which exists looks out of print and I haven't heard any of it whereas I have the other three. When the Ross "Scarlatti Cube" came out in the last format, it was my re-issue of the year: http://ionarts.blogspot.de/2005/12/best-recordings-of-2005.html

You'd think you'd hear the rush in which they were recorded, but not such thing. Lester is way more boring in many more Sonatas and I don't find Belder has the nuance and becomes annoying after a few too many discs.

[Todd]

You'd think you'd hear the rush in which they were recorded, but not such thing.

I disagree.  There are times in the cycle where the playing almost seems giddy, as if Ross was excited by the music he had just learned and wants to play it immediately so that everyone else can hear it.  I got that impression the first run-through, and it was there on the two subsequent listens.  His playing is meticulous throughout, and at those moments where it sounds giddy, it simply sounds even more involved.  Ross' cycle is one of the great recording achievements.  It's been a few years since I last listened to the whole set.  Perhaps I should revisit it in the summer.

[Karl Henning]

What I think Jens meant is, that the brief calendar of the overall recording project suggests the possibility of shortcuts or insufficiency in the preparation, but that there is no such problem.

[Mandryka]

So is Ferdinando Valenti's cycle not complete?

[Brian]

Yes it does.  Bing, too.  (I had to check.  It's rare for a photo not to exist.)

There are photos, technically, but they're kinda old at this point - they don't compare to the amusing experience I had seeing Markovich play live, where he dispatched Liszt with admirable aplomb and virtuosity even though he looked like he had T-Rex arms, and a technique involving using himself as an elbow-rest.

[(poco) Sforzando]

There are photos, technically, but they're kinda old at this point - they don't compare to the amusing experience I had seeing Markovich play live, where he dispatched Liszt with admirable aplomb and virtuosity even though he looked like he had T-Rex arms, and a technique involving using himself as an elbow-rest.

Is this kinda old?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY4XhLuYc_A

Your T-Rex metaphor escapes me, however, as T-Rex had tiny arms compared to the rest of his body:

[Brian]

Is this kinda old?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY4XhLuYc_A

Looks like that's 2 years before I saw him - but I must say in his praise, the total delight which he shows in that video is an essential part of his stage presence. He was doing the Liszt Concerto No. 2 with the LPO, and all through the performance, seemed totally overjoyed by every bar.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Looks like that's 2 years before I saw him - but I must say in his praise, the total delight which he shows in that video is an essential part of his stage presence. He was doing the Liszt Concerto No. 2 with the LPO, and all through the performance, seemed totally overjoyed by every bar.

That's good to know, because I have always found the third beat of the second measure before letter O in the score to be slightly uninspired.

[prémont]

Hantai will release a 4th cd of sonatas next month.

That will become his fifth.

[prémont]

So is Ferdinando Valenti's cycle not complete?

No, he recorded, as far as I know, a little more than the half of them.

[prémont]

Ross, for harpsichord, reigns supreme very easily over Lester and Belder;

Must remain a matter of taste.

I'm not sure if Rowland is complete..

Rowland is advertised as being complete.

Lester is way more boring in many more Sonatas and I don't find Belder has the nuance and becomes annoying after a few too many discs.

Must remain a matter of taste.

[Luke]

I've probably said it before somewhere here, but Richard Lester was my piano teacher between the ages of about 5-7.  Actually quite inspirational, because he taught in such a beautiful old building in the middle of a Twickenham park (in my memory, at any rate), which really influenced my conception of the special, separate nature of this music which I was just beginning to learn about. I have an LP of him in Scarlatti recorded about that time, a long time before the Nimbus cycle.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I disagree.  There are times in the cycle where the playing almost seems giddy, as if Ross was excited by the music he had just learned and wants to play it immediately so that everyone else can hear it.  I got that impression the first run-through, and it was there on the two subsequent listens.  His playing is meticulous throughout, and at those moments where it sounds giddy, it simply sounds even more involved.  Ross' cycle is one of the great recording achievements.  It's been a few years since I last listened to the whole set.  Perhaps I should revisit it in the summer.

Thank you for this. I don't have an integral set of Scarlatti, and so I'm pleased to have found the complete Ross at a good price online. That's
good, because speaking pianistically, I find Scarlatti often much more difficult to play than Handel or Bach. The tricky leaps, the hand-crossings, and the broken sixths and thirds can get pretty treacherous at times.

[prémont]

I've probably said it before somewhere here, but Richard Lester was my piano teacher between the ages of about 5-7.  Actually quite inspirational, because he taught in such a beautiful old building in the middle of a Twickenham park (in my memory, at any rate), which really influenced my conception of the special, separate nature of this music which I was just beginning to learn about. I have an LP of him in Scarlatti recorded about that time, a long time before the Nimbus cycle.

Yes, you have mentioned that before. As to his Scarlatti I find it rather uneventful, but I very much like his recent recordings of early Italian baroque music, particularly his Frescobaldi, but also the others.

[prémont]

Two or three days ago, I thought: it would be great if Skip Sempé recorded a substantial part of these sonatas.

It was after to listen to this disk:

I was not really impressed by this, which the completist in me purchased, but I may need a relisten.

[Wakefield]

I was not really impressed by this, which the completist in me purchased, but I may need a relisten.

Personally, I think Sempé has a great ability to expose clearly and distinctly the impressive heap of ideas involved in this music.

It's virtuosic, but also (a bad word in artistic issues) beautifully pedagogical.

[Mandryka]

Wow, thank you everyone for the great feedback!    Not sure yet what I'm going to do, but I will do something.   

I think whether you enjoy Scott Ross's Scarlatti will depend on what you want from music. If you like your music to be poignant, then you may be slightly disappointed by what he does.

Before investing, I suggest you listen to him playing K 87. And then try someone with a very different style like Glen Wilson.

[Mandryka]

Personally, I think Sempé has a great ability to expose clearly and distinctly the impressive heap of ideas involved in this music.

It's virtuosic, but also (a bad word in artistic issues) beautifully pedagogical.

I think this is potentially interesting. Can we take an example?

[jlaurson]

What I think Jens meant is, that the brief calendar of the overall recording project suggests the possibility of shortcuts or insufficiency in the preparation, but that there is no such problem.

Yes, thank you.