Born in Naples in the same year as Bach and Handel (1685), Domenico Scarlatti is remembered above all for his dazzling one-movement harpsichord sonatas. He came from a large musical family—his father, Alessandro, was a leading opera composer—and he divided his career between Italy, Portugal and Spain. In Rome, he was appointed director of the choir at St. Peter’s, writing his sonorous 10-voice “Stabat mater”, and in 1733 moved to Madrid with his royal pupil, Maria Barbara, for whom he wrote most of his 550 or so harpsichord sonatas. In an age where originality was not a creative goal, his finger-pleasing sonatas struck a genuinely individual note. Infused with the rhythms and brittle melodies of Spanish folk music, and full of flamboyant hand-crossings, their vividly contrasting characters reflect the variety of harpsichords and early pianos available at the Spanish court. A particular favourite is “Sonata in E major, K. 380”, with its castanet-like ornaments and marching-style inflections. Scarlatti, who died in Madrid in 1757, is one of the few Baroque composers whose music never entirely disappeared from the repertory.