performing scarlatti

[pianistimo]

i am beginning to think that one cannot do scarlatti justice on the piano.  it just sounds fake.  of course, with a broken leg, i am limited in my pedalling - but one doesn't typically pedal a lot in scarlatti, right?  if you try to compensate for the overtones of the piano - and ringing tones instead of the plucked sound - how do you do it without making the staccato's too loud?  who is the best pianist, in your opinion, to play scarlatti on the piano?  or, do most resort to the harpsichord?

just listened to ivo pogorelich on amazon and he's really good.  does anyone know how he gets his trills to sound like that? (and, i can tell he does use a lot of pedal, but very quickly)

[ramseytheii]

i am beginning to think that one cannot do scarlatti justice on the piano.  it just sounds fake.  of course, with a broken leg, i am limited in my pedalling - but one doesn't typically pedal a lot in scarlatti, right?  if you try to compensate for the overtones of the piano - and ringing tones instead of the plucked sound - how do you do it without making the staccato's too loud?  who is the best pianist, in your opinion, to play scarlatti on the piano?  or, do most resort to the harpsichord?

just listened to ivo pogorelich on amazon and he's really good.  does anyone know how he gets his trills to sound like that? (and, i can tell he does use a lot of pedal, but very quickly)

What do you mean by, "compensate for the overtones of the piano?"  Meaning you are sorry the piano has overtones?  But my dear, the harpsichord is the instrument that above all else features the overtones.  There are no dampers.  Pluck one string, and they all ring out.  You may mean, compsensate for the lack of overtones on the piano compared to the harpsichord.  That indeed is difficult, since you can't pedal all the way through a Scarlatti sonata.  In the piano as on the harpsichord the timing is just as important, and will lead to that network of overtones which is to our ears harmonious.  Pedal judiciously, but with "maximum returns" from "minimum effort."

Walter Ramsey

[pianistimo]

with so many fast notes in scarlatti, it seems that the harpsichord has the advantage, though, of a fast decay.  on the piano - you use pedal too much and you're stuck with a blurry sound.  so, as you say, quick pedalling - very quick. and very light touch, right?

i found some stuff at www.sankey.ws/scarlattimus.html that is interesting - but i also recognize that a pianist shouldn't be embarrassed to play the piano like a piano and not try to make it totally a harpsichord. 

the double trills he talks about are cool.  using thumb and fifth finger for upper notes, and 2nd and 4th for lower. 

*especially was interested in the manner in which people hold their arms.  he said scarlatti should be played with both upper and lower arm parallel to the keyboard to allow for rapid crossing of hands.  interesting.  do pianists typically sit farther back when playing scarlatti?

[rimv2]

just play it how you want

[arensky]

who is the best pianist, in your opinion, to play scarlatti on the piano? 

For me, Vladimir Horowitz and Sergei Babayan

[dorfmouse]

Insert Quote
Quote from: pianistimo on Today at 06:07:50 AM
who is the best pianist, in your opinion, to play scarlatti on the piano?


For me, Vladimir Horowitz and Sergei Babayan
Posted on: Today at 07:15:38 AMPosted by: rimv2 

I haven't heard these two, hopefully a treat yet to come, but I have 2 collections, one by Mikhail Pletnev and one by Christian Zacharias, both of which are inspiring. I'm afraid listening to harpsichord just doesn't do it for me!

[mig]

Pletnev is awesome! it's a must. Horowitz and Pogorelich are very good, too. I see no reason why one should imitate the harpsichord when playing Scarlatti. The piano has resources that can be successefuly applied to Scarlatti. But that's just my opinion.

[PaulNaud]

You must listen to Vladimir Horowitz playing Scarlatti. But also you have marvellous interpretations by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and by Dinu lipatti.

[nyquist]

But my dear, the harpsichord is the instrument that above all else features the overtones.  There are no dampers.  Pluck one string, and they all ring out. 

This is incorrect.  The jacks of the harpsichord have a damper at the top end.  When the key is not being pressed the damper is on the string, muting it.  The damper is typically made out of felt.  For a picture look at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpsichord#Actio

nyquist

[pianistimo]

thanks for explaining that.  i played once on a harpsichord and found it's sound at the time very annoying (being used to the piano) - but when you have music specifically for the instrument - i can see it having a sort of tone (much different that the loud overtones of the piano) that is extremely soft and needing amplification.  of course, on the piano, everything seems so loud.  to me, horowitz is brash with scarlatti by putting in more crescendo/decrescendo and lots of pedal in certain places.  i tend to like pogorelich more.  going to listen to michelangeli, and lipatti right now.

i really like pletnev, too, but not as much as pogorelich.  pletnev is cool too about how he pairs up the sonatas.  you can obtain some good ideas for how to pair them up.

wanda landowska made some beautiful recordings on harpsichord - which could be listened to for interpretation ideas on the piano. 

still listening.  michelangeli is soooo good  -   just listened to him.  i like the definate dynamics (forte/piano) instead of all kinds of gradations.  it seems that it  fits the music and times.  he is overly pedal friendly either.

avoid marcelle meyer - unless you like a lot of pedal!