1

Sonata K466

(L118)

in fa minore

Andante moderato

7' 48"

2

Sonata K322

(L483)

in la maggiore

Allegro

3' 13"

3

Sonata K32

(L423)

in re minore

Aria

1' 58"

4

Sonata K149

(L93)

in la minore

Allegro

2' 41"

5

Sonata K481

(L187)

in fa minore

Andante cantabile

6' 49"

6

Sonata K239

(L281)

in fa minore

Allegro

3' 41"

7

Sonata K462

(L438)

in fa minore

Andante

6' 04"

8

Sonata K17

(L384)

in fa maggiore

Presto

4' 50"

9

Sonata K87

(L33)

in si minore

Andante

4' 42"

10

Sonata K438

(L381)

in fa maggiore

Allegro

4' 20"

11

Sonata K159

(L104)

in do maggiore

Allegro

2' 45"

12

Sonata K11

(L352)

in do minore

Allegro moderato

2' 41"

13

Sonata K64

(L58)

in re minore

Gavotta

1' 54"

14

Sonata K391

(L79)

in sol maggiore

Allegro

2' 51"

15

Sonata K380

(L23)

in mi maggiore

Andante comodo

5' 41"

16

Sonata K531

(L430)

in mi maggiore

Allegro

3' 24"

17

Sonata K9

(L413)

in re minore

Allegro

3' 30"

18

Sonata K146

(L349)

in sol maggiore

Allegretto

2' 50"

19

Sonata K513

(L.S3)

in do maggiore

Pastorale

3' 18"

Domenico Scarlatti, son of the great composer Alessandro, was born in Naples in 1685, the same year J.S. Bach and G.F. Haendel were born. He lived in Italy, mainly in Rome, before moving to Portugal and Spain, where he died in 1757. He composed theatre plays, sacred music, cantatas, but Domenico Scarlatti remains a probably unique icon in the history of music for his "corpus" of almost 600 sonatas written for keyboard instruments. His sonatas are in one tempo and with them, drawing from the heritage of Italian and Iberian folk melodies and rhythms, Scarlatti touches the most diverse expressions of human feelings and explores the most varied forms of keyboard techniques with genius and traits that are completely original for the historical period he lived in.

The CD contains a selection of 19 sonatas, chosen with the main aim of offering the listener a significant outline, if inevitably limited, of the main different styles and of the several atmospheres Scarlatti was able to create.

The photograph on the cover, by Pier Paolo Strona, sets out to visually recall Scarlatti's intense and many-sided sound. It is a macrophotograph of the bristles of a ordinary kitchen brush.

Audiophile recording made in January 2006 with valve microphones and pre-amplifier, 96 kHz digital sampling rate, in a small-sized room with characteristic intimate soundfield. The pianoforte was positioned slightly on the right from the listener's point of view, and this arrangement can be appreciated when listening with a high-resolution hi-fi system. Steinway Grand Piano - model S 155.

Pier Paolo Strona is a civil engineer, researcher in the field of the numerical models of structures, photographer and author of books and calendars. He is a pianist performing both in Italy and abroad, with a repertoire ranging from the most important classical composers to ragtime, Latin American as well as asian music.

Efrem Mirolo is an aerospace engineer and an art lover. He paints, plays different instruments and takes photos. Music accompanies his life and inside him it blends with science leading to the design of loudspeakers, recording systems and to their "musical" set-up.

Thanks to Maestro Guido Donati, organist and composer in Turin, who contributed to developing a better awareness of the choices of interpretation with discussions, opinions, suggestions and advice.