Recording Review #63: Scrumptious Scarlatti

Domenico Scarlatti: Complete Keyboard Sonatas, Vol. 29. Emanuil Ivanov, pianist. Naxos 8.574633. 

I haven't been able to determine how many more recordings Naxos will require to finish their complete Scarlatti keyboard sonatas series. But since we're already at Volume 29, and given the rough number of these works that usually appear on a single disc, it seems safe to assume we're nearing the end. In a sense I'm sad, because I've loved the regular stream of fantastic recordings of Scarlatti sonatas. I'm loathe for it to stop. Yes, these 555 works have all been recorded multiple times...some much more than others. And while there are plenty of very good options for them, for once I take the view of "the more the merrier" when it comes to new releases. Especially as it involves Naxos, the label that first made me a Scarlatti-oholic with that early selections disc featuring Balázs Szokolay (Naxos 8.550252). 

It's also been fun to see which sonatas Naxos chooses to go on their different installments in the series. Whoever is tasked with this seems to shrewdly make sure that a diverse mix of familiar and obscure fleshes out each offering. So it proves here. Of the 16 selections on Volume 29, the K. 303 Sonata in C Minor, occupying the seventh track, is likely to be most known to listeners if for no other reason than because Vladimir Horowitz included it in his own Celebrated Scarlatti Recordings. (See Sony SK 53460.) This is a good place, then, to begin measuring Emanuil Ivanov's new release. While Horowitz's interpretation of this sonata perhaps has more depth and imagination, Ivanov's own is nonetheless equally satisfying from the standpoint of taste and consistency. 

Ivanov's K. 303 is typical of every other selection here. If there is one word that sums up his playing it might be "adroitness." He brings a satisfying pianistic toolkit to the various challenges that present themselves in these works. A handful of examples may suffice. In K. 73 he differentiates declamatory and gentler sections/materials nicely. In K. 137 and K. 255 he deploys well-executed terrace dynamics, which are so crucial to rendering Scarlatti's sonatas on a modern piano. K. 117 and the Bach-like K. 85 especially showcase an admirably sharp articulation. But perhaps both K. 223 (with its quirks and sudden moments of lyricism) and K. 236 (one of the more technically difficult sonatas) demonstrate Ivanov's gifts most of all. This disc is worth its (inexpensive!) price on the strength of these latter two performances alone. 

There is no bad place to start with Scarlatti's sonatas. The lesser-known ones often delight as much as the often-played. Whether you're a noob or a veteran of this repertoire, Naxos's 29th volume is a winner that repays investment. 

Verdict: Highly Recommended