Domenico Scarlatti: A Man of Genius

Featuring

Francesco Corti
Domenico Scarlatti

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Compositional Technique

Scarlatti's sonatas often feature unexpected twists, bizarre sonorities, and 'tonal contortions' that are fleeting, strange, and deliberate.

Composer Biography

Charles Burney, an 18th-century music historian, quoted Scarlatti as saying he broke compositional rules but that his deviations did not 'offend the ear'.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas are considered both 'central' because they encapsulate the technical and formal achievements of his time, and 'eccentric' due to his innovative and experimental style.

Performer Biography

Francesco Corti, the harpsichordist, is a prizewinner at the Bach-Wettbewerb Leipzig (2006) and the Bruges Harpsichord Competition (2007).

Composer's Artistic Vision

Scarlatti purposefully contradicted conventional musical 'syntax' and academic rules, mixing 'serious' and 'buffo' styles, and 'refined' with 'folkish' elements.

Compositional Technique

The sonatas on this album are grouped in pairs according to key, reflecting the binary ordering found in the Venice and Parma manuscripts.

Composition History

The sonatas on this recording come from 18th-century manuscripts preserved in Venice and Parma, dated 1752-1753, though the actual composition dates are debated.