Classics Today 10/10, Disc of the Month; Gramophone: Editor's Choice.
Yevgeny Sudbin playing Scarlatti is a feast! He emulates his great compatriot Vladimir Horowitz in realizing that the sonatas (555 in all) that Domenico Scarlatti ostensibly wrote for performance on the harpsichord are actually much better suited to the piano. The range of moods and colours that Scarlatti conjured up – not to mention the sheer speed that some movements really require if they are to work to the best advantage – cannot be achieved on the harpsichord, however brilliant the performer. Just as with so much of Bach's keyboard music, the composer had already realized what a better type of percussive keyboard instrument might one day achieve and did not bother to limit his imagination and his demands to the limitations in the instruments available during his time. If you do not believe this, please (1) listen to Yevgeny Sudbin playing this selection of sonatas by Scarlatti. (He is a very persuasive musician!) and (2) read the fascinating introduction to his recording that Mr. Sudbin has provided in the booklet; a little masterpiece of writing on music.
Some press voices:
"Yevgeny Sudbin makes his solo debut on disc with performances of a superlative vitality and super-fine sensitivity...This is, arguably, among the finest, certainly most enjoyable of all Scarlatti recitals." Bryce Morrison, Gramophone, May 2005
"In the wrong hands a little Scarlatti can go a long way, but when played like this one can easily imagine sitting through all 555 sonatas." International Piano, 2005
"Voilà l'un des grands disques de piano de 2005 et assurément le nouveau talent le plus remarquable de l'année." Classics Today France.com
"This is absolutely great piano playing, and it's matched by one of the most beautiful keyboard recordings to come along in a quite a while. If you love Scarlatti – never mind the opportunity to make the acquaintance of a stellar young artist clearly capable of wonderful things – you simply must hear this." Classics Today.com
"Was [Sudbin] hier für Farben aus dem Steinway zaubert – beispielsweise die Glocken- und Harfen-Klänge in den hohen lagen – , wie kultiviert er trillert, in welch feinen Stufungen er die Dynamik einsetzt, das offenbart den Meister." Fono Forum, April 2005
"Sudbin is a player of remarkable fire and fineness." Sunday Times 06/03/2005
His playing has a wonderful fluency and easy style... A hugely promising beginning." The Guardian 25/03/2005
"Un pianiste de grande classe, totalement maître de ses moyens et possédant un charisme et une autorité qui font trop souvent défaut aux musiciens de sa géneration." Stéphane Blet, Piano, April 2005
”Both musically and technically, this debut is on a par with those two greatest of Scarlatti pianists, Horowitz and Pletnev. As eloquent in the most poignant sonatas as he is brilliant in the showstoppers, Sudbin is already a master.” Piano, March/April 2005
