In their gaiety, lyricism, lightness, and eccentricity, the 550-odd keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) are among the joys of music. Scarlatti composed them during his old age while in the service of the royal family of Spain and Portugal.
There have been complete recordings of the sonatas on the harpsichord (by Scott Ross and Fernando Valenti), but this CD is part of a project on the Naxos label to record the sonatas in their entirety for the piano. (I don't think there is an earlier complete set of the sonatas on the piano.) Each CD is performed by a different pianist, and each sells at a budget price. The series will probably be of most interest to those listeners who already know Scarlatti and want to explore his music in detail.
This CD volume 6 in the Naxos series is performed by the Russian pianist, Evgeny Zarafiants. I wasn't familiar with Zarafiants before, but I know he has recorded works by Scriabin for Naxos. The disk includes 16 sonatas of widely varying types such as long, slow lyrical sonatas, (the sonata in D major, K.478), and lively, short virtuosic pieces (the sonata in F sharp minor, K.67 and the sonata in B flat major, K. 112.) The CD exemplifies many aspects of Scarlatti's art: the trills and ornamentation, the repeated notes, dance-like melodies, guitar-like strumming, showy passages played cross-handed, sudden changes of mood, and much more.
It is valuable to follow the Naxos series and to hear the manner in which different performers interpret Scarlatti. Zarafiants's readings make use of the full characteristics of the piano; he makes no attempt at imitating the musical idiom of the harpsichord. Thus, he plays with full tone and use of the pedal and with great dynamic variety. He plays with a marked staccato in those sonatas with repeated notes and with a much softer, lyrical touch in the longer, meditative works. He changes tempos frequently within a single work and changes moods and styles effectively. He plays with imagination and versatility. It is an effective way to hear Scarlatti on the piano.
Some of the works on this CD I particularly enjoyed are the opening sonata in E major, K. 135, a quirky work with many changes in moods and dynamics and with trills, the sonata in C major, K.502, a broad work full of octaves and trills, the sonata in F major, K.419, a light ,lyrical work which works down from the upper register of the instrument, and the sonata in E flat major, K. 123, a virtuosic piece with a loud opening followed by runs and ornaments with contrasting legato and staccato passages. This is the sort of disk in which I found different works that appealed at each hearing.
Music lovers who want to explore Scarlatti's sonatas in detail (and who are comfortable hearing these works on the piano) will enjoy this CD and its companions in the Naxos series.
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