Scarlatti, D - Keyboard Sonatas

german pianist christian zacharias has recorded three discs of scarlatti sonatas -- this, on MDG, and two now owned and issued by EMI -- that are among the finest available. these are idiomatic, transparent, virtuosic and heartfelt performances, as delightful as any i have ever heard, and i found them immediately absorbing and convincing. zacharias strips away most of the baroque ornamentation (often necessary on the harpsichord, especially to sustain long melodic lines), but also rejects all "romantic" interpretive cliches, though quite a lot of modern pianism (pedal, dynamics, phrase shaping, tone color) is subtly used to highlight dramatic contrasts.

to context zacharias's approach, he has the pristine accuracy of andras schiff or vladimir horowitz, all the color and alert touch of ivo pogorelich (but without the mannerisms), the technical facility of pletnev (but without the romantic exaggerations, especially in pedal and phrasing), the emotional clarity of maria tipo, the poetry of dubravka tomsic, and the imagination and sheer musical joy of soyeon lee. unlike alexis weissenberg, his rhythmic pulse is never wavering or ambiguous. his selection of sonatas across the three discs is remarkable for avoiding many of the cliche works while uncovering several gems ... his reading of K.296 F major (on EMI) in particular has a depth and grace i have never heard in a scarlatti work before. the tone and action of the piano in all three discs is marvelous, and the sound quality is uniformly excellent although audibly unequal, and there is a bit of fortissimo clang in the second EMI disc.

as a cd collector i got in the habit of buying all scarlatti discs as a way to better appreciate and understand the pianism of different artists. i bought all three of zacharias's discs as a way to better appreciate and understand domenico scarlatti.

Restrained? More the reason I think to love Christian Zacharias' fine recording of these Domenico Scarlatti piano sonatas (I am referring to another Amazon.com customer reviewer, who wrote favorably of the Hybrid SACD version, but complained that Zacharais' intepretations seemed a bit too restrained.). His thoughtful interpretations should be well received by many classical music fans, especially those who've followed period instrument practice. I greatly admire not only Zacharias' technical excellence at the keyboard which he demonstrates repeatedly in this recording, but his graceful, almost cantabile-like, playing. In plain English, he strikes a fine balance between excessive emotionalism and technical perfection. The sound quality of this recording is absolutely impeccable. So I have no hesitation in recommending this recent recording from Christian Zacharias as both a fine interpretation of these Scarlatti piano sonatas, and a delightful introduction.

All those truly jewels compounding Domenico Scarlatti's catalogue of keyboard sonatas - short pieces in one movement, greatly imbued with Iberian flavour and passionate rhythms - call for a gifted musician who must be able to naturally alternate melodic lines, sharply shade contrasts and lively use vivid tempos. Therefore only an agile-minded pianist can qualify for the task of interpreting Scarlatti's sonatas at a masterful degree, a pianist who possesses a robust insight in what music means at its deepest level: feeling embodied in sound. Scarlatti proves a maestro of atmosphere demanding at a largest extent the soloist approaching his music.

Christian Zacharias is - for me - among the living pianists the most suitable to this music. He has all the required qualities as a super-class musician and actually he seems fond of playing this music, loving to polish the phrase up to its last consequences, extracting the right nuances and moods from his keyboard. In short, Christian Zacharias reigns supreme in the realm of clever virtuosity and spontaneous empathy with Scarlatti's output.

A recording not to be missed!