Domenico Scarlatti

Giuseppe '''Domenico Scarlatti''' (1685-1757) was born in Naples in the same year as [[Bach]] and [[Handel]]. He was the son of [[Alessandro Scarlatti]], who hoped his son would follow in his operatic footsteps, but realised that the young man’s talents lay elsewhere. Domenico became a virtuoso [[harpsichord]]ist, and as such, a traveller. Although he spent a good part of his career in [[Spain]], he is known to have visited many European cities. Today he is known for his role in the development of the [[sonata]]. He wrote over 500 for the harpsichord, although these days they are as likely to be heard played on the [[piano]] and many of them are extremely popular. We can be grateful for the American harpsichordist, Ralph Kirkpatrick who, in a study of Scarlatti, published in 1954, categorised these gems. There is a story that Domenico and the great George Frederick Handel met in friendly competition. It was agreed that Handel was the greater organist, but Scarlatti won on the harpsichord.<ref>[http://www.wqxr.com/cgi-bin/iowa/cla/learning/grove.html?record=8168 Groves Concise Dictionary of Music]</ref> ==References== <references/> [[Category: Composers]] {{DEFAULTSORT: Scarlatti, Domenico}}