Scarlatti Long - Complete Keyboard Sonatas 4 (16 tracks) +Album Reviews

The deeper sides of Domenico Scarlatti

Steven Eldredge | New York, NY USA | 03/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off I want to say that this Naxos series of Scarlatti sonatas, each played by a different pianist, has been uniformly excellent. I would not hesitate to recommend any of the seven volumes (as of this writing) so far.

The CD in question, played by Beatrice Long is somewhat deceptive. My first impression was that it wasn't as brilliant as some of the others in the series. Much of that has to do with the fact that she has chosen for her program some of the slower, longer, more rhapsodic of the sonatas. Upon closer listening, however, I discovered a musician with a lot of imagination and fantasy, a beautiful sound, interesting ornamentation, and a firm grasp of Scarlatti's peculiarly Italian/Iberian sound world. I have found myself listening to this disc over and over recently, and I am always finding new little things in it to admire.

Eventually planned to number over 25 discs, the time to begin collecting this series is now, before the stack gets too high!"

Lack-lustre.

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 11/02/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Making a career and some recordings in the USA, Beatrice Long features as the fourth pianist to contribute a volume in the Naxos projected series of the complete sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti. The recording was made in 1996 but not issued until 2002. It will do little to enhance the reputation of the pianist, the series, or Scarlatti himself. There is drama, magic, grandeur and ingenuity aplenty in these single movement works, but little of it is projected here. K 443, for example, so full of rhythmic energy and guitar figuration, comes across as four minutes of dullness. Duller even still is the piano tone throughout. Rarely have I heard such lack-lustre sound quality in a digital recording. Only in terms of duration is this CD good value, running for a second short of 80 minutes."

A Most Remarkable CD

Albert E. Everett | Little Rock, AR United States | 11/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rhythm and transparency, with brilliance in the fingerwork, prevail. This CD (along with Horowitz, Pogorelich, and Andjaparidze, of course) should be the standard used in sorting out future pianists for the Naxos series. This is certainly Scalatti as it should be played.I would like to enter some personal thoughts. The K4 somehow misses the quitar model which would require a quicker tempo and more flamenco color, The K107 evokes for me, on my piano, fantasies of the Arabian Nights with its beautifully perfumed elegance, soft drums, and measured moorishness. However difficult, the piece should be played gently with no sharp edges.So, hats off to Beatrice Long! I would welcome her back for another CD in this series"

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