Scarlatti: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 5

Featuring

Christoph Ullrich
Ib Hausmann
Domenico Scarlatti

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Performer Biography

Christoph Ullrich, born in Göttingen, studied with Leonard Hokanson, Claude Frank, and Rudolf Buchbinder, and has a repertoire of about 1000 works from all epochs since Bach.

Composition History

The 30 Essercizi, dedicated by Scarlatti to King Jose V of Portugal in 1738, are included in this collection as they are formally similar to his later sonatas.

Composer Biography

Maria Bárbara de Bragança, the Spanish Queen and Scarlatti's long-time patroness and pupil, bequeathed his sonata volumes to the castrato Farinelli.

Recording & Production

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

Composition History

Scarlatti's one-movement sonatas were compiled into 15 volumes, mostly containing 30 sonatas each, under his supervision during his lifetime.

Interpretation

Pianist Christoph Ullrich views Scarlatti as a 'pedagogic genius' whose rigorous exercises are spiced with imagination and variety, requiring daily 'acrobatics' from the performer.

Compositional Technique

Most of Scarlatti's sonatas were written as 'essercizi' (studies) for his pupil, the Portuguese Infanta and later Spanish Queen Maria Bárbara, to practice various hand positions and fingerings.