Like its predecessors, Volume 3 of Naxos’ complete Scarlatti sonata cycle aims for a variety of moods, tempos, and enough textural diversity to sustain a one-hour-plus program. Jenö Jandó, Naxos’ de facto house pianist, makes his first appearance in this series, and for the most part he equates himself well with the works at hand. There are plenty of details to savor: the K. 105 G major sonata’s perfectly timed guitar-like strums; the deftly projected major/minor juxtapositions throughout the K. 444 D minor; and the K. 46 E major sonata’s crisply centered articulation. Jandó’s breezy yet rock-solid account of the K. 70 B-flat major sonata underscores the music’s proximity to Bach’s Italian Concerto, and his subtle tempo fluctuations help sustain the long, ruminative C minor sonata (K. 126).
To be sure, Jandó is not a colorist and charmer in the manner of celebrated Scarlatti practitioners like Vladimir Horowitz, Alicia De Larrocha, András Schiff, Marcelle Meyer, Maria Tipo, and Michel Pletnev. On occasion Jandó’s touch becomes overly emphatic, as in the brusquely handled passages in thirds throughout the K. 447 F-sharp minor sonata. You also could imagine a lighter, steadier, more dance-like F major sonata (K. 525) than Jandó delivers. Imagine Horowitz’s G major K. 201 minus the fustian inner voices and dynamic micro-control and you’ve got the gist of Jandó’s lithe and lively rendition. Overall, a fine disc that augurs well for Jenö Jandó’s continued participation in this slowly-but-surely progressing series.
