Now past the midway point in his projected cycle of Scarlatti’s complete keyboard sonatas, Pieter-Jan Belder partitions Volume 8’s 54 works among fortepiano, organ, and three timbrally distinct harpsichords. He continues to make an impression primarily as a gentle, lyrical player, at the opposite end of Scott Ross’ more extroverted, even aggressive temperament. Since Scarlatti sonatas allow plenty of interpretive leeway, personal taste will govern your response to one artist over another.
If you hear the F major K. 354’s triple meter as a peasant dance with downbeats firmly in the ground, you’ll choose Ross. But if you prefer rounded corners and decoration to the fore, then Belder’s your man. In the C major K. 327, Belder concurs with Ross’ upbeat basic tempo while favoring more legato, flexible articulation to Ross’ detached phrases. Yet every now and then Belder proves the more incisive and supple executant, as in the scampering F major K. 350. And sometimes Belder and Ross are two of a mind. For instance, the only significant difference between each artist’s zestful, effortless handling of the B-flat K. 334’s repeated-note phrases is that Ross plays harpsichord and Belder plays fortepiano.
In contrast to the closely miked, slightly dry, and punchy impact of the Ross recordings, Brilliant Classics’ engineers place Belder’s harpsichords in a more resonant space that leaves more breathing room. However, the fortepiano selections sound relatively muddier and less well defined. Those who’ve been collecting this cycle need no recommendation to acquire Volume 8.
