25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
eight years of artistry, October 12, 2008
This review is from: Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas (Audio CD)
over the years i have become so interested in domenico scarlatti that i finally decided a complete edition was necessary. on the piano, naxos is slowly building one around the interesting if unwieldy concept of enlisting 30 or more young artists to complete the traversal. on harpsichord, there is the series by scott ross, now apparently out of print, and this new edition by pieter-jan belder.
recorded from 2000 to 2007, strictly following the sequence of ralph kirkpatrick catalog numbers, the mere achievement boggles the mind. so it is a triple pleasure to discover marvelous musicianship, splendid production values, and a stupefyingly low market price (yes, that's $3 a disc, more or less). the project is such a rare convergence of artistry, craftsmanship, integrity and vitality that one can hardly believe it was completed in the century of arrogance, incompetence and greed.
i have not yet auditioned every disc, but my random sampling suggests the engineering and production are exceptionally consistent. the sound stage places belder's instrument close to the listener, but without distortion. to provide some aural variety and historical interest, belder has used "every harpischord i could lay my hands on" -- which actually only includes modern copies of instruments by giusti, ruckers, mietke, zell and others. he even performs several of the sonatas on a fortepiano (which was invented in 1711 and available to scarlatti both in italy and in spain), an organ, or as trios with a baroque violinist and bassist. despite this variety, all the harpsichords have a pleasant timbre without either wiry thinness or clangorous weight, and it is extremely interesting to hear some of the sonatas in the nasal tones of an early pianoforte.
belder's performances are idiomatic and alert, with appropriate but not excessive ornamentation, and generally very well judged tempi, though he avoids the riotously fast tempi sometimes adopted by modern players. interpretively he strikes the balance necessary for such a long journey -- neither as fiery as pierre hantai nor as cerebral as gustav leonhardt, and with an informed sense of what baroque listeners valued in a harpsichord performance -- and there is plenty of life, pleasure and even wit in his recreations. a delight to encounter ... even if it takes eight years to listen to them all!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Scarlatti sonatas by Pieter jan belder, June 8, 2009
This review is from: Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas (Audio CD)
Pieter Jan Belder's 2000/2007 recording of Domenico Scarlatti's complete sonatas invites comparison with the Scott Ross complete set from 1984/85.
I own both of them and if i'm honest there is little between them.Both play with great skill and avoid the turbo injected speeds which some players adopt.In some sonatas i prefer Belder and in other Ross but the difference is marginal.They both play in a refreshingly straightforward manner with no eccentrics and just let the music pretty much speak for itself - in other words they put Scarlatti first and only serve the music.This is the hallmark of REAL professional harpsichordists.
As for sound,again in some discs i prefer Belder's sonics and in others Ross.Sometimes Belder has a little too much reverb and sometimes Ross is too closely miked.
My recommendation is to listen for the sound samples and judge accordingly.
I believe the Belder recording's are still available in seperate volumes if there are certain discs you like better than others.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Here's a Treasure Chest!, May 18, 2008
This review is from: Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas (Audio CD)
The five stars are provisional. This is a serious "heads up" notice, not a review. Pieter Jan Belder is a masterful harpsichordist, a protege of the great Dutch keyboardist Bob van Asperen. Belder is the harpsichordist on many of the disks of the Brilliant Classics Complete Bach Edition.
For a mere $70.00, I'm about to acquire a lifetime supply of miniature masterpieces, the complete harpsichord sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti. If I listen to one a day, hearing it three or four times, I'm sure it will do more for my retirement well-being than Prozac, Coumadin, Flomax, Ginko Biloba, and multi-vitamins all together. Huzzah!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
