Scarlatti: Sonatas

Scarlatti: Sonatas

The 18th-century Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti wrote an incredible 555 keyboard sonatas. Many are just a few minutes in length, but through their infinite invention and variety of color, they explore the full technical and textural range of the harpsichord. French virtuoso Jean Rondeau’s program of just 15—with a mischievous improvisation of his own to break the pace halfway through—gives a superb overview of Scarlatti’s genius. Rondeau’s brilliantly incisive playing is perfect for the blistering pyrotechnic displays of K. 141 and K. 119, and his beautifully judged rubato transforms the simplest of the composer’s more introspective sonatas, such as K. 69 and K. 199, into beautiful arias.

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