SCARLATTI : Sonaten (Alexis Weissenberg) (1986) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

 Tracklist & Credits :

JACQUES LOUSSIER TRIO — Baroque Favorites (2001) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Jacques Loussier has spent most of his career blending jazz and classical styles into a lightly swinging and highly melodic hybrid. He is most well-known for tackling Bach, but here he covers a range of Baroque composers. Loussier, bassist Benoit Dunoyer De Segonzac, and drummer Andre Arpino play pieces by Handel, Pachabel, Scarlatti, Marcello, Albinoni, and Marias. Loussier has a very light touch and the trio is laid-back, never distracting from the melodies. You can hear the influence of Dave Brubeck in Loussier's playing (especially on Marais' "La Sonnerie de Sainte-Geneviève du Mont"), and much like Brubeck's best work, there is a strong sense of warmth and intelligence on Baroque Favorites. The only complaint one might have is that the brevity of some of the songs breaks up the flow of the record. Nevertheless, Baroque Favorites is a very nice album. Tim Sendra
Tracklist :
Suite for keyboard (Suite de piece), Vol.2, No.4 in D minor, HWV 437 2:16
1 Theme and Variation No. 1
George Frederick Handel
2 Variation No. 2 1:36
George Frederick Handel
3 Variation No. 3 1:33
George Frederick Handel
4 Variation No. 4 0:42
George Frederick Handel
5 La Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève du Mont à Paris, for violin, viola da gamba & continuo in D minor 5:37
Marin Marais
6 Sonata for keyboard in B minor, K. 87 (L. 33) 4:55
Domenico Scarlatti
7 Sonata for keyboard in F sharp minor, K. 67 (L. 32) 1:30
Domenico Scarlatti
8 Largo in F major, instrumental arrangement ("Ombra mai fu" from the opera Serse) 3:21
George Frederick Handel
9 Canon in D major, instrumental arrangement 3:39
Johann Pachelbel
Concerto for oboe, strings & continuo in D minor, SF. 935 (often transposed to C minor)
10 Andante e spiccato 2:32
Alessandro Marcello
11 Adagio 2:23
Alessandro Marcello
12 Presto 3:09
Alessandro Marcello
13 Adagio 4:33
Tomaso Albinoni
Work(s)
14 [Unspecified] Concerto in F major for organ 4:08
George Frederick Handel
15 [Unspecified] Concerto in F major for organ 5:15
George Frederick Handel
16 [Unspecified] Concerto in F major for organ 2:39
George Frederick Handel
17 [Unspecified] Concerto in F major for organ 4:25
George Frederick Handel
18 [Unspecified] Concerto in F major for organ 3:48
George Frederick Handel
Credits :
Piano, Arranged By – Jacques Loussier
Bass – Benoit Dunoyer De Segonzac
Cover [Image: "Angel with inscription INRI from the Cross" (1669)] – Bernini
Drums – Andre Arpino

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Sonatas (Angela Hewitt) (2016) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

As one of the world's foremost interpreters of Baroque keyboard music on the modern piano, Angela Hewitt has established a fine reputation for impeccable playing and fresh musical insights. Listeners who cherish her award-winning recordings on Hyperion of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach have already experienced her exquisite playing, and they will be delighted to hear this selection of sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, Bach's contemporary and an innovator whose compositions influenced the development of the Classical sonata. Some of these selections are well known, particularly the Sonata in C major, Kk159, the Sonata in D major, Kk96, and the Sonata in E major, Kk380, which are often anthologized, though Hewitt hasn't packed this disc with greatest hits (with 555 sonatas to choose from, there are many less familiar that deserve attention). Hewitt's performances are thoughtfully phrased, polished in tone, and rhythmically precise with a modicum of rubato, and she is alert to the subtleties that make this music so beguiling. Hewitt recorded these 16 sonatas in the Beethovensaal in Hannover, where she made her first Bach recordings for Hyperion 20 years previously, and the acoustics are nearly ideal for her style. Of course, purists may insist on only harpsichord performances of these pieces, but for compelling piano versions, this CD is highly recommended. by Blair Sanderson
All Tracks & Credits

CLARA HASKIL - Philips Recordings 1951-1960 Concertos & Sonatas (Beethoven, Chopin, Falla, Ravel, Scarlatti, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann) (2007) 7CD / APE (image+.cue), lossless

Romanian pianist Clara Haskil began her career as a child prodigy at the Bucharest Conservatory under Richard Robert at age 7, making her debut at the age of 10. Haskil ultimately graduated from Alfred Cortot's class at the Paris Conservatoire at 15 with the Prémier Prix to her credit. By the age of 18, however, Haskil was forced to endure the first of many physical setbacks that would hold back her career, in this case an attack of meningitis that kept her in a body cast for four years. Haskil did recover, making her New York debut in 1924 and her London debut in 1926. Although it was late in her career that her name was inextricably linked with the Mozart piano concerti, at this stage Haskil was associated with Romantic literature. Her performances of the Schumann concerto in Philadelphia with Leopold Stokowski were widely praised.

With the outbreak of war, Haskil was trapped in occupied Paris, but was able to escape to Marseilles. There she survived a surreptitious surgical procedure to remove a tumor from her optic nerve, and was then smuggled to Vevey, Switzerland, where Haskil settled for the rest of her days. With war's end she resumed her career yet again, and thereafter enjoyed her greatest successes with a busy concert and recording schedule that took her around the world. Despite her amazing stamina, she proved unable to survive a fall she suffered in a Paris railway station in 1960, and died one month short of her 66th birthday.

With Haskil, musicianship came first and technical matters were irrelevant; she had enormous hands and could play a 12th in her left hand with a fingering of 2-5. Haskil reputedly had an amazing memory, and could accurately play back a piece of music she'd heard only once, even after the passage of several years, without ever having seen the score. The Clara Haskil Prize, awarded once every two years in Vevey, Switzerland, was established in 1962 as a memorial to the pianist. by Uncle Dave Lewis
Tracklist :
CD 1    Domenico Scarlatti (1685 - 1757) Sonata In E Flat Major K.193 - Sonata In B Minor, K.87 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) Nine Variations In D, K.573 On A Minuet By J.P. Duport - Piano Sonata No.10 In C Major, K.330 - Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937) Sonatine, M. 40 For Piano - Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856) Bunte Blätter, Op.99 -
CD 2    Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856) Kinderszenen, Op. 15 - Waldszenen, Op.82 - Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) Piano Sonata No. 17 In D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 "The Tempest" - Piano Sonata No. 18 In E Flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3 -"The Hunt"
CD 3    Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828) Piano Sonata No. 21 In B-Flat Major, D. 960 - Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) Piano Sonata No. 17 In D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 "The Tempest" - Piano Sonata No. 18 In E Flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3 -"The Hunt"
CD 4    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) Piano Concerto No. 9 In E Flat Major, K.271 - "Jeunehomme" - Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor, K. 466
CD 5    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor, K. 466 - Piano Concerto No.24 In C Minor, K.491 - Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Minor, Op. 37
CD 6    Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Minor, Op. 37 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) Piano Concerto No. 23 In A Major, K.488 - Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856) Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op. 54
CD 7    Manuel de Falla Matheu (1876 - 1946) Noches En Los Jardines de España - Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849) Piano Concerto No.2 In F Minor, Op.21

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 1 (Eteri Andjaparidze) (1999) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 2 (Michael Lewin) (1999) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 3 (Jenö Jandó) (2001) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 4 (Beatrice Long) (2002) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 5 (Benjamin Frith) (2002) Mp3

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 6 (Evgeny Zarafiants) (2003) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 7 (Konstantin Scherbakov) (2004) Mp3

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 8 (Soyeon Lee) (2007) Mp3

This group of Domenico Scarlatti keyboard sonatas from an ongoing Naxos series presents what can fairly be called an old-fashioned approach to the composer's music, although that's not to say anything against it. The young Korean American pianist Soyeon Lee harks back to the times when pianists phrased Scarlatti a good deal like Mozart, who himself was viewed through the prism of Romanticism. In place of the percussive harpsichord rhythms and sharp contrasts of recent Scarlatti performances, you get pedal, gracefully shaped phrases, and a smoothing of the edges of Scarlatti's style. Lee has a nice way of shining a light on Scarlatti's dissonances even as she emphasizes the symmetries and balance in his music, and her performance is graceful and appealingly lyrical throughout. Listen to her reading of one of the slower sonatas, such as the Sonata in B minor, K. 87 (track 6), or better still play it for someone without identifying it and see if you can elicit a guess of a much later composer. The performance works on Lee's terms. On the other hand, if there is one fundamental way that historical performance has changed conceptions of this composer, it is that such performances have brought out the role that Spanish vernacular rhythms played in his music. The listener who has heard crisp harpsichord of works such as the Sonata in C major, K. 420 (track 3), may have a hard time going into reverse gear and hearing Lee's restrained performance here with fresh ears. Still, for those who have always liked Scarlatti on a piano, or who simply don't wish to see one orthodoxy replace another, this disc will make a nice addition to a Scarlatti collection. by James Manheim  

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 9 (Francesco Nicolosi) (2008) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Kudos to Naxos for the way it has handled its ongoing series covering Domenico's enormous body of keyboard sonatas: in a repertory only (at best) loosely divisible into chronological or stylistic groupings, they have opted instead to divide the sonatas up among different performers. The buyer gets to look at these miniature masterworks, which can be performed in so many different ways, through different lenses. The label has not shied away from strongly pianistic readings of the sort that were heard 50 years ago, when Scarlatti was one of the few Baroque composers known outside small circles of performers and supporting enthusiasts. This volume is by Francesco Nicolosi, an Italian pianist who has specialized in the likes of Thalberg and Liszt, so it's no surprise it falls into the highly pianistic category. Nicolosi uses heavy dynamic contrasts and plenty of pedal. In the faster works he is given to bending the tempo a bit, especially toward the ends of phrases. Check out the Sonata in C minor, K. 139 (track 5), with distinct slowdowns on the highly progressive dominants that clearly mark out the reappearances of the tonic key. Nicolosi takes his time on these, which is one of several devices that make Scarlatti seem here like some kind of immediate predecessor to Chopin. Another is the murky pedaling in the slower pieces, several of which are quite long; the opening Sonata in D minor, K. 52, at more than seven and a half minutes, has the feel of Liszt in one of his more Bach-obsessed moments. The good news is that Nicolosi is among the group that, in Charles Burney's words, "have now perseverance sufficient to vanquish [the] peculiar difficulties of execution" in these sonatas, and he never uses the pedal to mask any of the hand crossings or other brilliant effects. The harpsichord brings out colors in Scarlatti's work (Spanish ones, for example) that aren't available on the piano, but the advantage of the Naxos approach is that the buyer can sample individual discs without becoming enmeshed in the entire series, and Nicolosi's Romantic treatments are well suited to several of the pieces chosen here. by James Manheim  

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 10 (Colleen Lee) (2008) Mp3

Faced with strong competition from several all-harpsichord (or almost all-harpsichord) complete sets of Domenico Scarlatti's more than 550 keyboard sonatas, the Naxos label made the inventive and happy decision to try a new approach: each new disc in the series has been performed by a different keyboardist, with harpsichords, pianos, and even organs all represented. The harpsichord is undeniably better suited to bringing out some of the features of the music, such as the little flamenco moves in the Sonata in D major, K. 29 (track 1) that brilliantly contrast with all the crossed-hand passagework. Yet the music is a lot of fun to hear on a piano, partly because it's more difficult when played that way. The young Hong Kong pianist Colleen Lee is crisp and exciting in the fast passagework, and she has a certain flair that fits the music as well as, or arguably better than, Mikhail Pletnev's more virtuosic but also more stylized readings of Scarlatti sonatas. Lee's approach is in the old Baroque piano mainstream, with sharp articulation, clear delineation of interior lines, sparing use of the pedal restricted mostly to legato, lyrical passages, and a judicious use of dynamic and tempo alterations to build intensity. Sample the Sonata in E major, K. 134 (track 11), with its complex migrations of little motives through different registers of the keyboard, to hear Lee's clear renderings, which are compelling in their technique while completely avoiding flashiness. The sound, captured in a small concert hall in Britain's Suffolk region, lets Lee's technique shine through unimpeded, and there's an X factor in these performances, having to do with a young artist excitedly growing into material at the very edge of her comfort zone, that makes this a very strong entry in an already strong series. by James Manheim  

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 11 (Gottlieb Wallisch) (2008) Mp3

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 12 (Gerda Struhal) (2010) Mp3

 

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 13 (Chu-Fang Huang) (2010) Mp3

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 14 (Duanduan Hao) (2014) Mp3

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 15 (Orion Weiss) (2014) Mp3

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Complete Keyboards Sonatas, Vol. 16 (Duanduan Hao) (2015) Mp3