Scarlatti, D: Keyboard Sonata K491 in D major

Trevor Pinnock, a global figure in the early music movement for more than thirty years, gives critically acclaimed performances of keyboard music by Scarlatti, Rameau, Greene, Arne and Handel.

‘The playing is first rate and the recording outstanding in its presence and clarity. There are few better anthologies of Scarlatti in the catalogue.’ Penguin Guide of Scarlatti

‘Pinnock chose a mellow instrument here, making his stylish, crisply rhythmic performances even more attractive. Excellent recording.’ Penguin Guide of Rameau

Smaro’s extensive research has revealed significant differences between the modern classical guitar and those of the Renaissance and Baroque periods – encompassing instrumental design and construction, string materials used, number of string courses, wide-ranging tuning schemes, etc. Such extensive variants make for a broad array of tonal qualities and colors as well as different technical and interpretive approaches.

Playing modern replicas of period instruments built by luthier Yorgos Kertsopoulos, Smaro performs transcriptions of well-known music by Bach, Handel and Scarlatti with exceptional skill and panache. Such “reinvented” guitars enable her to demonstrate many different tonal and interpretive possibilities of the period that – until now – have gone unheard. This release – as Classical Sentinel said of her first album – is certain to become “A fascinating CD for any classical music enthusiasts; a definite must-have for any serious classical guitar fans.”

Reference Track

Analytical presentation of all tunings; samples of program pieces performed on the standard classical guitar in nylon trebles and ordinary tuning

The title of this CD refers to the melting pot of lights and colours used by the composers featured here; Scarlatti, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Ravel and Albéniz. Felix Ardanaz’s solo work embraces all styles, although he feels a particular predilection for the Impressionist repertoire, and the works of Albéniz and Chopin.

The anonymous harpsichord used for these performances was built in Naples, the birthplace of Scarlatti, around 1710, and has been recorded here for the first time. It is the only remaining harpsichord with a gut register, known as “tiorbino”. Mathieu Dupouy studied at the Paris Conservatoire and has devoted himself to the harpsichord, clavichord and piano.

On Volume 13 in Naxos’s highly praised and popular series, the young Chinese pianist Chu-Fang Huang, who in 2005 won First Prize in the Cleveland International Piano Competition and was a finalist in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, interprets sixteen of these influential 18th-century mini-masterpieces.

At first sight, they appear to have nothing in common - but disregarding the stylistic elements and a difference of two centuries, you soon recognize that both Scarlatti and Bartók, are in a sense, musical architects, who as piano virtuosos were equally interested in miniature forms and inspired by folk music.

Inspired by an 18th century performance practice, where two different character pieces were executed opposite each other in pairs in contrast with each other, I experimented in both the concert hall and the recording studio with the series of pieces on this CD. I found out quickly that I heard, experienced and played both Scarlatti and Bartók’s work ‘differently’ when they were executed alternately - as if discovering hidden secrets in familiar works! This realization led to a new and fresh perspective on the style and rubato and reconsideration of rhythmic, melodic and dynamic elements. (Dejan Lazic, liner notes)