Naxos’ Scarlatti cycle descends to the bottom of the proverbial barrel for Volume 30, one of this series’ outright duds. The close microphone placement and tinny, monochrome sonorities make one wonder if pianist Rixiang Huang had recorded on a colorless fortepiano or a cheap electronic equivalent, with a dynamic range encompassing nothing beyond mezzo-forte and mezzo-piano. Was he in quest of a “harpsi-piano” of some sort? Granted, one can infer a modicum of nuance from Huang’s clean and studious finger work, but he rarely aspires beyond practice room efficiency. In the C Major K. 339, for example, Huang makes little of the second theme’s downward suspensions, nor do his scales scintillate. At least the C Major K. 356’s double-note trills convey some flair, but why must he hit nearly every downbeat on the head in the F Major K. 366. What is more, there’s not much tempo variety between selections. Add Huang’s uniformly expressionless and monotonous pianism to the ugly sonics, and you’ve got a disc to avoid at all costs.
