Domenico SCARLATTI (1685-1757)
Complete Keyboard Sonatas, Vol. 13
Keyboard Sonatas: A major, K.65/L.195/P.142 [1:49]; 2. D major, K.160/L.15/P.131
[4:46]; 3. G major, K.125/L.487/P.152 [2:35]; 4. E minor, K.232/L.62/P.317
[8:56]; 5. D major, K.416/L.149/P.454 [3:18]; 6. G major, K.71/L.81/P.17 [2:01];
7. D major, K.164/L.59/P.274 [4:24]; 8. G minor, K.35/L.386/P.20 [2:35]; 9.
D major, K.534/L.11/P.538 [5:45]; 10. C minor, K.22/L.360/P.78 [2:40]; 11.
F major, K.205/L.S23/P.171 [3:42]; 12. B flat major, K.529/L.327/P.533 [2:26];
13. D major, K.491/L.164/P.484 [7:09]; 14. B minor, K.197/L.147/P.124 [7:42];
15. E major, K.28/L.373/P.84 [3:20]; 16. C minor, K.363/L.160/P.104 [2:45]
Chu-Fang Huang (piano)
rec. Glenn Gould Studio, CBC, Toronto, Canada, 21–22 May 2008
NAXOS 8.572107 [67:04]
It has been nearly twelve years since Naxos began its ambitious Scarlatti
series, recording the complete keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, who
composed some 555 of them. Given that only sixteen of the sonatas appear on
this disc, this is a project that may occupy the Naxos group for some time
to come. According to their online listings, Disc No. 1, featuring pianist
Eteri Andjaparidze, appeared in January 1999; this thirteenth disc, with the
Chinese pianist Chu-Fang Huang, was released in October 2010.
Naxos has chosen to present these sonatas with a series of pianists, rather
than harpsichordists, and fans of the latter period approach are invited to
hear how convincing Scarlatti sounds in the hands of several (mostly) up-and-coming
pianists. On this recording, Chu-Fang Huang – a graduate of both the Curtis
Institute and the Juilliard School – persuasively demonstrates why these baroque
sonatas can work so well on the modern piano, even when the listener’s ingrained
preference might be for instruments of Scarlatti’s time. Winner of first prize
in the Cleveland International Piano Competition and Van Cliburn International
Competition finalist, Huang is a stylish and compelling player who also knows
the virtues of restraint and taste.
She has a clear affinity for these wonderfully quirky sonatas. Her crisp articulations
give each note a subtle separate presence, without ever sounding choppy or
percussive. The swiftly flowing melodic lines are never over-pedalled; indeed,
the pedal is used sparingly and unobtrusively throughout. The specially Spanish
character of the sonatas is deftly underlined in a few instances where they
sound almost as if they had been written for Spanish guitar - notably portions
of the Sonata K.125 in G Major.
Equally effective is the wistful, gently wandering opening of the biggest
and perhaps most unusual sonatas of this set, the K.232 in E Minor. This performance
sounds almost improvised, with the plangent harmonies of a repeated rising
passage in sixths sounding strangely modern.
At the same time, however, Huang never distorts the music with anachronisms,
romantic embellishments, or the over-emoting style with which contemporary
pianists sometimes try to make a mark on these 18th-century pieces.
The playing sounds honest and authentic, and the technique – never an easy
“given” in these often-speedy pieces with huge intervallic leaps – is so fluid
that everything sounds deceptively easy. Some of the tempi are breathtakingly
fast.
The excellent two-page liner notes, which give the K (Kirkpatrick) numbers
of each sonata as well as the numbers from the Longo (L) and Pestelli (P)
catalogues, are by Keith Anderson, and his introduction to the sonatas includes
such entertaining anecdotes as an account of the Scarlatti vs. Handel contest
in Rome - in which the former was judged the better harpsichordist, while
the latter was declared the superior organist.
Clearly, there are many choices for Scarlatti fans, whether they prefer to
hear this music on the harpsichord or the piano. And these much-recorded sonatas
have attracted the attention of pianists from Horowitz to Alexis Weissenberg,
an often-overlooked stylist who produces pulse-pounding Scarlatti. But this
Naxos series of fresh discoveries is enough to tempt the palate of the most
jaded collector, proving again that the element of pleasant surprise is still
alive and well in the recording studio.
Melinda Bargreen
Enough to tempt the palate of the most jaded collector. The element of pleasant
surprise is still alive and well in the recording studio.