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Bailey's Bundles
Domenico Scarlatti: An Introduction to the Keyboard Sonatas
C. Michael Bailey
...wants to know if Gene Harris is playing "Summertime" in Heaven...Others recorded Scarlatti using a harpsichord, most notably Ralph Kirkpatrick, whose 1950s era critical edition is still widely referenced. Kirkpatrick's playing is faithful and his Archiv discs beautifully captured. Scott Ross recorded all 555 sonatas on harpsichord and organ on 34 discs, originally for Erato, but now available on Warner Classics. Ross has staying power. Pieter-Jan Belder is currently working on a complete set for Brilliant Classics, performed on both harpsichord and piano, which he is recording in Kirkpatrick numerical order.
A revolution akin to that detonated by Glenn Gould's 1955 piano recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations (Sony, 2003) occurred with Vladimir Horowitz's 1964 recording Horowitz Plays Scarlatti (Sony, 2003), which effectively put Scarlatti on the map in the 20th century. For the Scarlatti novice, this Horowitz is the place to start. In spite of the pianist's reputation for being a high Romantic, Horowitz had a great affinity for Bach, Scarlatti, Clementi (another favored Horowitz composer), Haydn, and Mozart. The playing, for sure, is Vladimir Horowitz, and aside from a booming left hand, he is more faithful to Scarlatti than Landowska.
Other notable piano performances of Scarlatti Sonatas include Horowitz contemporaries Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century, Polygram, 1998), Emil Gilels (Emil Gilels: Early Recordings Deutsche Grammophon, 2006), Dinu Lipatti (Dinu Lipatti Plays Bach, Mozart, Scarlatti and Schubert (EMI Classics, 1990), and Glenn Gould, no Scarlatti slouch (Glenn Gould Plays Bach and Scarlatti Sony, 1997). More recent performances include Andras Schiff's tastefully middle-of-the-road Decca recording (1990), Mikhail Pletnev's delightful two-disc Virgin set (1995), Ivo Pogorelich's densely enigmatic—and enjoyable—Deutsche Grammophon recording (1993), and Yevgeny Sudbin's BIS set (2005). All offer a universe of Scarlatti interpretation, some beyond reproach, some controversial, but all excellent because the original composition is excellent.
Naxos enters the Scarlatti fray with a complete series, using different pianists for each set.
