Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SENSATIONAL SCARLATTI, June 19, 2001
When I read that Naxos was launching a massive 25+ CD Scarlatti sonatas (on piano) campaign, I sniffed: Oh, sure, this is fine, we need MORE Scarlatti sonatas, don't we?--- but piano music, like Reger's Op. 82 ("From My Diary"), or Baines' utterly glorious works, languish unrecorded by budget companies.
But my sniffing and griping were short-lived.
From the very first instant I began Ms. Andjaparidze's traversal, I knew these Scarlatti sonatas would be something to stand up and take notice of, and, indeed, they excel in every conceivable way. Not only this: Many of the seventeen sonatas included I had never heard before (which is hardly surprising, since Maestro Domenico wrote over five hundred sonatas). I was impressed. I was excited. I stood up!
Never had I heard the likes of a pianist like this before. Electric, alert, youthful, fresh, as in the Sonata in F (L. 432), all in the best sense of every adjective. Yet, at the same time, as in the dreamy Sonata in E Minor (L. 427) that runs almost thirteen minutes, we find her pensive, penetrating, with a nostalgia that breaks the heart. The CD is worth this emotionally personal, revelatory performance, alone.
Lucky for us, we have sixteen others to enjoy equally.
There is no doubt in my mind: Eteri Andjaparidze is one phenomenally gifted pianist, free from eccentricity, totally engaging in style and technique (with more than enough to spare!) and utterly attractive in tone and touch. Yet, for me, this only begins to describe her. She is so much more than the sum of her "parts," the sum of her playing. What comes through the recording is more intangible: a personality so gifted, so "touched" by music's muse that hearing her play becomes an almost other-worldly experience. It truly is something to hear.
With a recorded sound that more than flatters the pianist (most realistic and warm), a goodly collection of sonatas (known and unknown), and a CD timing that you can't beat with a stick, Naxos has again hit the mark dead on. If this initial volume is any indication of the quality to come, it looks like we piano buffs have much to look forward to.
[Running time: 79:38]
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can't wait for Vol. 2, March 11, 2002
I have read Melvyn Sobel's review of this CD, and absolutely agree with what he says. So what can I say? This is a very refined CD. It is very quiet. All you hear is the music sung on a keyboard with little or no pedal. The playing brings to mind some early Horowitz live Scarlatti performances where he was able to bring out with utter clarity a muted, quiet sound without trying to copy the harpsichord. One exception to this is the magnificent G major sonata (K13 / L486) where our player just plain romps. I feel this sonata ranks with music's greatest keybord works for its wit, brevity, beauty, and joie de vivre. Another super-plus for this CD is the table of contents: note that out of 17 tracks, 12 are in the K number range over K400; i.e., music written in the last years of Scarlatti's life Would that other CD's might follow this pattern. I hope that Ms. Andjaparidze keeps her eye on the ball, and does the complete Scarlatti before she chases other pursuits a la Rachmaninoff
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eteri Andjaparidze Plays Scarlatti Sonatas, March 21, 2005
Domenico Scarlatti (1685 --1757) composed over 555 short sonatas for the keyboard which made him, as the liner notes for this CD aptly point out, "the greatest of idiomatic composers for the harpsichord." With that recognition, it is intriguing that this is the first volume of a projected complete recording on the Naxos label of the Scarlatti sonatas on the piano. These pieces, with their aristocratic ease, sway, brilliance, and linearity fit beautifully on the harpsichord. I always feel a twinge of regret when I hear them on the piano. But there is another side to the matter. I have attempted some of these sonatas myself on the piano from Ralph Kirkpatrick's anthology of sixty sonatas. Furthermore, as a projected complete set of the sonatas, each of the volumes will include a mixture of familar works as well as works which most listeners will hear for the first time. Finally, each CD in this collection will be performed by a different pianist. I find this an excellent way of performing the complete set as the listener will hear the range of sonatas peformed by different artists in their own styles. Thus, the series offers an excellent way to get to know Scarlatti and pianism.
This CD, the first volume in the series, features the Georgian pianist Eteri Andjaparidze. She has recorded a variety of works for Naxos, including music by the American composer Zez Confery and works by Prokofiev. She performs seventeen sonatas on this disk, ranging from the early (K. 8) to the late (K. 544) Ms. Andajaparidze performs Scarlatti with a light touch indeed. Her tone is quiet and light and much of her playing is highly reflective. She does well with the scale passages, filigree, ornamentation, and repeated notes that are an integral part of Scarlatti's style.
The CD includes good program notes which comment briefly and evocatively on each of the sonatas on the recording. Of the works on this CD, I enjoyed particularly the sonata in E-minor, K. 402. This is the longest work on the CD, running over twelve minutes. It is a slow, reflective, and elaborate work featuring lovely falling arpeggios in the right hand. I also enjoyed (and have attempted to play) the sonata in G major, K427, which Scarlatti directs is to be played "as fast as possible." An unusual marking which should bring joy to pianists tempted to rush! The sonata in G minor, K.450, which is a march in the upper register of the instrument and the sonata in F major, K.446, which is flowing, introspective, and dancelike were also among my favorites on this CD.
Scarlatti's music gains its depth from its lightness and gaiety. Those listeners unfamiliar with Scarlatti will have an excellent opportunity to get to know him through this series of his complete sonatas on Naxos.
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