"Hatto's" Scarlatti vol 3 identified
s5z1...@comcast.net
a bit of time-manipulation, and finally one solid recommendation--
perhaps the only one to come from this whole set! Methods of
identification are the same as before, though I'm now using headphones
which make differences in room ambience (a useful clue with the more
generic performances) easier to detect, even with the sound altered.
To indicate where the time-distortion (usually stretching) occurs,
I've included timings for the copies and the originals. Timings were
read off the CD player, with silences before and after deducted, and
should be accurate to within a second or so--certainly more accurate
than the stated timings on the "Hatto" disc, which are off by as much
as 1 1/2 minutes!
"Hatto" track 1: K. 2 (1:48) = Benoit (1:37)
Track 2: K. 27 (3:53) = Benoit (3:53)
Track 3: K. 32 (2:27) = Tipo (2:27)
Track 4: K. 54 (4:05) = Babayan (3:51)
Track 5: K. 79 (2:16) = Tipo (2:16)
Track 6: K. 109 (4:48) = Tipo (5:05)
Track 7: K. 125 (2:30) = Benoit (2:15)
Track 8: K. 162 (5:05) = Benoit (4:54) (different from Tomsic's K. 162
in vol 1)
Track 9: K. 193 (4:05) = Benoit (4:05)
Track 10: K. 420 (2:47) = Okashiro (2:47)
Track 11: K. 247 (4:23) = Szokolay (4:23)
Track 12: K. 342 (2:04) = Tipo (2:04)
Track 13: K. 365 (3:52) = Babayan (3:52)
Track 14: K. 445 (2:56) = Babayan (2:38)
Track 15: K. 415 (1:37) = Benoit (1:37)
Track 16: K. 425 (2:44) = Tipo (2:44)
Track 17: K. 441 (2:57) = Benoit (2:57)
Track 18: K. 476 (3:52) = Benoit (3:41)
Track 19: K. 531 (3:25) = Benoit (3:24)
Track 20: K. 547 (3:52) = Babayan (3:37)
Nine tracks are taken from a disc by Prisca Benoit on Pavane ADW 7326:
http://www.pavane.com/fiche.php?ref=ADW7326
This one's not quite as obscure as it seems, at least in the US: it
was reviewed in the Sept/Oct 1995 issue of Fanfare, and I saw a copy
in Tower Lincoln Center NYC as recently as last year. It would
probably not be considered among the most compelling Scarlatti piano
CDs ever made, but on its own it's likeable enough, with rapid tempi,
good maintenance of long lines, and a particularly good K. 1 and K. 2.
The sound is somewhat Nimbus-like (distant and echoey), and there
isn't a lot of contrast in mood between the different sonatas, so I
suppose "bland" would not be an inappropriate description. I tend to
be an optimist so would call it "consistent." :-)
Five tracks are taken from Maria Tipo's EMI disc:
http://www.emiclassics.com/releasedetails.php?rid=29238
The listing above is a little more complete (and accurate) than the
the one I e-mailed to Andrew Rose the night the story broke (and which
he quoted in a previous thread and on his website). K. 32 is now
identified as Tipo's, and K. 79, which I had previously thought was
Babayan's, turns out to be Tipo's very similar performance.
Track 10 (K. 420) is the only Scarlatti work from a mixed recital by
Chitose Okashiro on Pro Piano CD 224501, consisting of the Schumann
Symphonic Etudes, Mozart Sonata KV 570 and various shorter pieces:
http://www.propiano.com/cds-224501.html
And track 11 (K. 247) once again comes from Balász Szokolay (Naxos
8.550252), who's turning out to be B-C's ace-in-the-hole for
Scarlatti, though I've no idea why:
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.550252
It's another odd case of "What was B-C thinking?" Okashiro's K. 420
goes against type (for this sonata): instead of being grand and
majestic, it's restrained and shaded, though interesting in its own
way--a nice, non-generic choice. But then B-C opts for Szokolay's
relatively brusque and dry K. 247, when both Babayan and Benoit give
more flexible, nuanced readings which would have been much more
consistent with the previous track! I can understand the (apparent)
motivation to mix things up and try to cover one's tracks, but it
seems like a paradox: wanting to create a persona for Ms. Hatto, yet
eschewing available recordings that would have portrayed "her" in a
better light.
The remaining four tracks come from Sergei Babayan on Pro Piano
PPR224506:
http://www.propiano.com/cds-224506.html
This IMO is the cream of the crop and worth a strong recommendation,
though it's not exactly unknown (and was mentioned in r.m.c.r. a few
years ago). Babayan has a fabulous, super-clean technique and can
maintain extreme evenness and clarity with both hands even at very
rapid tempi without audible strain. There are several breathtaking
performances including K. 454, 547, 118, 79, 45, 17, 141 and
especially K. 445 (this is the one used in the final movement of the
Tommasini ballet "The Good-Humored Ladies"), which here is something
of a miracle of fleetness and lightness. The slower sonatas are hardly
inexpressive, with understated rubato, though still sounding
completely thought-out--a good example is K. 8 ("borrowed" by Hatto in
vol 2). There are even a couple of eccentric touches, like an odd,
slow K. 159 (which doesn't really work for me, but it's different),
and the sound is wonderfully clear and bell-like. Strongly recommended
to Hamelin fans, since one could imagine Hamelin playing Scarlatti
something like this. Also especially recommended to anyone who likes
Demidenko's Scarlatti CDs (Sanctus and AGPL), which also feature the
same sort of technical wizardry and a selection of sonatas seemingly
chosen to demonstrate it.
Volume 4 appears to be something of a sampler disc from a company
currently involved in a complete Scarlatti cycle (hint hint). All
tracks have been tentatively identified, with confirmations to come--
though probably not for about a week, since my ears are starting to
glaze over!
Seth Adelman