Search - Domenico Scarlatti, Ottavio Dantone :: Domenico Scarlatti: Complete Sonatas

The Essercizi or "exercises" were the first printed edition of Scarlatti?s works to be published while he was alive, and the only one that Scarlatti actually edited himself. This makes the book not only a tribute to John V, king of Portugal, but the attainment of an important goal, i.e. the publication of the composer?s own harpsichord music while he was still alive to see it. It?s not unreasonable to suppose that Scarlatti himself chose the sonatas for this collection as a sampler of his finest music. Ottavio Dantone plays an instrument built by Andrea Restelli in 2002, an exact copy of one made by Christian Zell in 1737. Dantone graduated in organ and harpsichord from the Conservatory "Giuseppe Verdi" in Milan. He began his career very young, dedicating his studies to early music and collaborating with various orchestras and acquiring considerable experience in basso continuo, an art upon which he is now considered an authority.