Scarlatti, D.: Keyboard Sonatas

To say that these performances are startlingly good is something of an understatement. They are not only good, they are essential to any lover of Scarlatti. Granted, there are those who will only listen to the sonatas as played on a harpsichord and more power to them, but most of us don't mind at all hearing them on the piano and, further, most recordings of the sonatas these days are by pianists. There are some essential pianistic recordings, including Horowitz and Weissenberg (and some would include Pletnev) but this disc wins the right to be shelved right up there with the big boys.

It is hard to know how to describe why Sudbin's playing is so wonderful, but I'll try. From the very beginning of the first track -- Sonata in B Flat, K. 545) you hear that the pianist molds each phrase with extreme musicality, both in phrasing and dynamic variation. This is, of course, done from the perspective of the piano, not the harpsichord; in my opinion, too many pianists try to make the piano sound like a harpsichord, ignoring or trying to hide the essential tonal qualities of the instrument. One might say that Sudbin's approach is Romantic, but that's actually not the case; what it is is unabashedly pianistic, and that suggests gestures that only began in the late 18th century with Mozart and early Beethoven. This is, in my opinion, all to the good. And it also allows Sudbin to tells stories with his playing. By that I mean he can attempt a narrative or limn an emotional tone by variations in touch, legato, dynamics and phrasing, and if that sounds romantic, so be it. What really strikes me is that Sudbin is able to differentiate the individual sonatas so that, unlike so often on the harpsichord, they don't all sound alike.

Like many others who have recorded selections from the sonatas, Sudbin has arranged his selection to maximize contrast between consecutive pieces. For instance, Track 1 (K. 545) is a celebration, and the following sonata (K. 466) is reflective, inward, pensive and tender but not melancholy. And so on. He has tended to choose later sonatas but includes one of Scarlatti's rare fugal sonatas (K. 30) and he ends with two other early works, K. 27 and K. 24).

Technically, Sudbin's playing is beyond reproach. But equally important is his ability to get to the heart of each sonata and bring out its unique qualities. This all adds up to an amazingly assured, even important, début disc. BIS knows a good thing when they hear it: Sudbin has since recorded a disc of Rachmaninoff for them and word has it that there will be a release the First Concertos of Tchaikovsky and Medtner.

Yevgeny Sudbin is definitely a name to remember. It's hard to recall a début disc that made such a splash as this one.

Scott Morrison