Recording a whole disc of Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas played on the piano was a bold move in 1989. By that time, the early instrument movement had all but completely claimed the Baroque repertoire for its own and performing sonatas written for the harpsichord on the piano was seen as aesthetically retrograde. Yet
András Schiff -- the Hungarian pianist then best known for his Decca recordings of Schubert, Mozart, and, most pertinently, Bach -- turned to Scarlatti as naturally and as inevitably as winter turns to spring. And his performances here likewise partake of the natural and the inevitable. The clarity of his counterpoint, the lucidity of his harmonies, the energy of his rhythms, the beauty of his melodies, and, most amazingly, the luminosity of his colors are all so lovely as to seem both absolutely scrupulous and thoroughly persuasive. Although purists and harpsichordists may scoff, any listener coming to this disc without prejudices will respond to the artistry of
Schiff's playing and the integrity of his interpretations and invariably succumb to its many and manifold blandishments. Decca's early digital piano recording is perhaps a bit too edgy but very clean and impossibly warm.