Born in 1992, the young Israeli pianist Eylam Keshet is a born Scarlatti player. The sultry understatement of his heel-clicking ornaments and gently nudging left-hand accents in the F minor K. 204 sonata make for a delicious opening salvo. Rhythmic sharpness and a wonderful variety of touch grace the F major K. 367 sonata and the B-flat K. 248 that follows. Conversely, the flexible lyricism characterizing Keshet’s B-flat minor K. 131 evokes the controlled freedom one associates with so-called “Golden Age” Scarlatti practitioners.
The galloping G major K. 305 stands out for Keshet’s attention to offbeat accents. Listen to how the introspective F minor K. 204a’s downward arpeggios fall from Keshet’s fingers like leaves floating from a tree to the ground: just magical here! In contrast to the driving virtuosity one often associates with the C minor K. 56, Eylam takes his time, yet keeps the momentum alive by way of perfectly timed dynamic inflections and varied phrase groupings. This is one of the jewels in Naxos’ ongoing Scarlatti cycle, and not least because it features many sonatas that we don’t often encounter in concert. Please, Naxos, invite Eylam Keshet back for more!
