Scarlatti, D: Keyboard Sonata K96 in D major

“Great pianists have often been fascinated by baroque music, and have sought to bring it up to date through transcriptions. Until now I had not heard such versions of Scarlatti sonatas, however, and their full-blown orchestral textures are quite a shock...Moog's bright, sharp pianism sounds better in the originals: the arrangements need more gentle, rounded warmth.” The Observer, 3rd February 2013

“his [Moog's] well-balanced singing tone is always enchanting. It’s hard to find any faults with this Scarlatti cornucopia.” Pianist Magazine, April/May 2013

“Inn essence Moog's 'illumination' interleaves straight performances, often delivered with chaste clarity and dexterous fingerwork, with respectful augmentations by Tausig and more exuberant makeovers by Friedman...Ultimately, a disc more diverting than illuminating - despite Moog's incontestable flashes of pianistic brilliance.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 ***

“The Gieseking is the most interesting thing here...Moog’s essay suggests he deserves some credit for tracking down the various unconventional arrangements we hear. This may not be Horowitz but it’s very well worth any Scarlatti lover’s time.” MusicWeb International, 26th April 2013

“whether you consider Scarlatti 'illuminated' or obscured, you will surely delight at such enterprise and performance as finely shaded and imaginative as they are dexterous.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013

“Every so often a major pianist reclaims Scarlatti for the piano with an outstanding recording. As Ralph Kirkpatrick put it, Scarlatti's harpsichord, while supremely itself, is continually menacing a transformation into something else. True, the relation of the music to harpsichord sound could hardly be closer, and it wouldn't have been composed the way it is for a different instrument.
Scarlatti is marvellous at suggesting imaginary orchestrations and stimulating the imagination.
He makes us aware of different vantage points as the music passes before us, of the different tones of voice and rhetorical inflexions – as various in these sonatas as the events in them are unpredictable.
There are dances, fiestas and processions here, serenades, laments, and evocations of everything from the rudest folk music to courtly entertainments and churchly polyphony; and as the kaleidoscope turns you marvel at the composer who could embrace such diversity, shape it and put it all on to the keyboard.
Pletnev's playing is strongly individual, and his free-ranging poetic licence may not be to your taste. Not that his spectacular virtuosity is likely to be controversial: this really is hors decatégorie and enormously enjoyable. And the evocations of the harpsichord are often very witty, but he doesn't shrink from using the full resources of the piano, sustaining pedal included, and if you baulk at the prospect, he may not be for you. The sustaining pedal is certainly dangerous in music that's almost wholly to do with lines, not washes of colour; it can make us see Scarlatti as if through Mendelssohn's eyes. Yet moments of such falsification are rare. Characterisation is everything, and though he can be coy in the reflective sonatas, he generally goes straight to the heart of the matter. The vigorous, full tone in the quick numbers is a joy, and most admirable is the way he makes sound immediately command character.
Superb recorded sound.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Pletnev establishes a firm pianistic approach...The performances throughout are in the very front rank.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Was Michelangeli's best playing his earliest? Here's a remarkable artist - overwhelmingly masterful in Brahms's Paganini Variations, engaging in Bach, poetic in Scarlatti, impulsive and haunting in Granados and Albéniz.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2009 *****

“Michelangeli ranks among the grandest of all musical autocrats. And when his transcendent mastery is complemented by warmth, wit and charm, such additions are beyond price. Early in his career he possessed a Romantic as well as magisterial charisma, and listening to his performance of Bach's Italian Concerto with its wealth of colour, nuance and resilience is to be reminded that a human heart beat beneath that legendary froideur. What sparkle, too, in Tomeoni's G major Allegro and how he plays the arch-seducer to the manner born in Albé- niz's Malagueña. Granados's Andaluza is heavily but irresistibly personalised, all fun and fancyfree; hardly for lovers of a more 'correct' Spanish style, while Marescotti's Fantasque is spun off with a virtuosity as life-enhancing as it is thrilling.
Michelangeli's reordering of the Brahms Paganini Variations is odd, but his performance remains of classic status. So, too, does his way with the Bach/Busoni Chaconne with his rapid tempi and lean, not-an-ounce-of-fat way with Busoni's maestoso instruction. This is an issue that all lovers of great artistry will pounce on, particularly when so enticingly offered on Naxos's bargain label.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Michelangeli ranks among the grandest of all musical autocrats. And when his transcendent mastery is complemented by warmth, wit and charm, such additions are beyond price. This is an issue that all lovers of great artistry will pounce on…” Gramophone Magazine, March 2009