"Hatto's" Scarlatti vol 4 identified
s5z1...@comcast.net
all of the others are taken from vols 4-7 of the Naxos complete
series:
Vol 4: Beatrice Long, Naxos 8.553846
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.553846
Vol 5: Benjamin Frith, Naxos 8.554792
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.554792
Vol 6: Evgeny Zarafiants, Naxos 8.554793
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.554793
Vol 7: Konstantin Scherbakov, Naxos 8.554842
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.554842
"Hatto" track 1: K. 274 (2:56) = Zarafiants (2:42)
Track 2: K. 19 (3:26) = Zarafiants (3:17) (different from Tomsic's on
vol 1)
Track 3: K. 214 (3:55) = Frith (4:09)
Track 4: K. 516 (4:50) = Long (4:40)
Track 5: K. 548 (3:25) = Frith (3:35)
Track 6: K. 158 (6:15) = Long (6:15)
Track 7: K. 403 (4:20) = Long (4:07)
Track 8: K. 123 (4:26) = Zarafiants (4:15)
Track 9: K. 502 (4:04) = Zarafiants (3:55)
Track 10: K. 175 (3:49) = Long (3:31)
Track 11: K. 284 (2:32) = Frith (2:27)
Track 12: K. 4 (5:16) = Long (5:10)
Track 13: K. 135 (4:50) = Zarafiants (4:45) (different from Szokolay's
on vol 1)
Track 14: K. 291 (4:40) = Scherbakov (4:51)
Track 15: K. 107 (4:07) = Long (4:07)
Track 16: K. 519 (2:42) = Long (2:42)
Track 17: K. 479 (4:08) = Scherbakov (4:14)
Track 18: K. 394 (4:57) = Tipo (EMI) (5:08)
Track 19: K. 262 (3:35) = Long (3:48)
Tracks 11 and 18 were mislabeled on the "Hatto" disc and have been
corrected here. Timings (read off the CD player, with silences before
and after the music proper deducted) indicate slight stretching or
compression for most tracks. More significant is that the sound hasn't
just been softened here but really deadened for most tracks,
especially in the right channel which (through headphones) makes the
piano sound like it's underwater!
By now, there's little reason to critique B-C's selections--in effect,
to judge whether he stole with good taste or not--since the main point
is that Ms. Hatto's Scarlatti appears not to exist at all (unless she
played or recorded any earlier in her career). The issue of generic
vs. individualistic performances, though, is interesting since there
are two ongoing Scarlatti series (Naxos and Stradivarius) which are
somewhat similar and can be compared. Both are at about the same point
of completion (8 or 9 discs), both employ a number of artists, and
both avoid a strict numerical or chronological ordering of the
sonatas. So they take a different approach from the single-artist sets
currently available (Ross, Belder, and Lester).
Since the Naxos series uses modern pianos, vs. historically-based
instruments in the Stradivarius series, it might seem like the Naxos
discs would allow for more varied interpretations. Yet the opposite is
true (so far). The Stradivarius discs feature artists that have a
relatively free approach to interpretation--and in the case of Ottavio
Dantone, extensive use of embellishments. And this appears to be
intentional, judging from the liner notes: "to the richness and
plurality which is typical of Scarlatti's creativity there should also
be added an interpretation which is similarly rich and varied."
The Naxos discs, on the other hand, consist for the most part of
cleanly-played but minimally "interpreted" performances, with
individual sonatas varied by mood but not usually linked in any way.
That doesn't make them bad, and it's nice to hear the lesser-known
sonatas on piano (probably for the first time in some cases). And some
of the artists are more distinctive than others: for example, Beatrice
Long regularly adds light embellishments, and Scherbakov uses a
greater variety of touches and dynamic contrasts. But in most cases,
without a strong personal style or a larger organizing principle, each
sonata has to "fend for itself," and parts of each disc often seem
better than the whole.
Scherbakov's disc does pair several sonatas by key, and I wish the
producers of the Naxos series would try to find other interesting ways
to organize each disc. There are several ways to do this, above and
beyond the "standard" pairings. Some artists form their own pairs or
larger groupings (Tipo on EMI), or even create entire "suites" by key
(Anthony Newman on Sony). And one pianist--Zhu Xiao-Mei on INA--seems
to have structured an entire live recital (17 sonatas) with a purpose.
She may string several fast sonatas together to build momentum, or
follow a slow sonata with a "transitional" one and then a faster one
which accomplishes the same thing and is extremely effective. Creative
orderings like these might not substitute for compelling playing, but
they can at least create a more interesting listening experience over
the course of an entire disc.
Seth Adelman
td
Congratulations on this Scarlatti identification project, Seth.
TD
s5z1...@comcast.net
>
> Congratulations on this Scarlatti identification project, Seth.
>
> TD
Thanks, though frankly I would have rather spent the time more
constructively, listening to newly-acquired discs with a more
"balanced" repertoire! I realized, though, that I was in a good
position to try this, since even other collectors with large Scarlatti
collections are probably not as, um, persistent about it....
I did not expect to be able to identify every track, though, and got
lucky on a couple of occasions. The Pagny disc (vol 2) I had only
located in the last year, and had never even heard of that one before.
And the Okashiro track (vol 3) almost went unidentified until I found
her disc in a large pile of CDs that I hadn't even listened to yet!
Seth