Scarlatti: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1

Featuring

Christoph Ullrich
Domenico Scarlatti

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Composition History

The 30 'Essercizi' (exercises), which begin this collection, were dedicated by Scarlatti to King Jose V of Portugal in 1738 as thanks for his knighthood.

Compositional Technique

The last of Scarlatti's 'Essercizi' is a fugue, known as the 'Cat's Fugue,' whose unusual subject is said to have been inspired by a cat walking across a harpsichord keyboard.

Composition History

Scarlatti's one-movement sonatas are preserved exclusively in manuscripts, compiled into 15 volumes under his supervision during his lifetime.

Composer Biography

Domenico Scarlatti, the composer, was born in 1685, the same year as Georg Friedrich Händel and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Composer Biography

Domenico Scarlatti became the private music teacher of Infanta Maria Bárbara, a Portuguese princess, in Lisbon in late 1722 and remained in this post until his death in 1757.

Recording & Production

Christoph Ullrich is recording all 555 of Domenico Scarlatti's harpsichord sonatas on a modern Steinway concert grand piano for this album series.

Performer Biography

Christoph Ullrich, the pianist on this album, has a diverse repertoire spanning all musical epochs and styles since Bach, and has performed with major orchestras worldwide.