The Complete Works, Volume V: Piano Book

This collection gives you the complete architectural scaffolding of Scarlatti's keyboard art in one volume. Rather than cherry-picking the famous E-Major Sonata or the Cat Fugue, you can trace his development across a genuine cross-section of his work, seeing how he tackles harmonic exploration, technical challenges, and formal innovation across ten different suites. For advanced students, this is essential repertoire; for teachers building a Baroque curriculum, it's an economical way to provide serious material without juggling multiple editions.

Scarlatti writes with the energy of someone discovering what a keyboard can do. These sonatas feel improvisatory and conversational one moment, then break into passages of almost athletic virtuosity the next. There's a lightness in the harmony and an unpredictability in the phrasing that keeps both player and listener engaged.

Advanced pianists and serious students ready to tackle authentic Baroque keyboard writing with real technical demands and intellectual substance. This is repertoire for performers preparing for competitions, auditions, or recitals where depth and stylistic command matter.

• Approach ornamentation as structural, not decorative. Scarlatti's trills and turns often sit at harmonic pivot points; execute them cleanly to clarify his harmonic thinking rather than to display virtuosity.
• Exploit the hand-crossing passages for theatrical effect. These weren't technical stunts but compositional choices that create dialogue between registers; lean into the spatial drama rather than rushing through them.
• Adjust voicing based on your instrument. The Kalmus edition works on piano, but remember Scarlatti conceived these for harpsichord; resist the urge to over-pedal in the rapid figurations, and let clarity take priority over sustain.
• Invest time in understanding the harmonic language within each suite. Scarlatti's progressions often surprise; mapping the tonal areas before drilling technical passages will make the music feel purposeful rather than merely brilliant.

Build a Scarlatti recital or suite of movements from this collection as a centerpiece in a Baroque program, pairing contrasting sonatas to show range. Alternatively, assign individual pieces across your advanced student roster as part of a cumulative Baroque keyboard curriculum, allowing students to discover the breadth of his invention over time.

• Hand independence and coordination across rapid, wide-ranging figurations
• Baroque ornamentation execution and stylistic nuance
• Harmonic analysis of Baroque tonal language and modulation
• Voicing choices on modern piano that honor harpsichord idioms
• Sight-reading facility at the upper intermediate to advanced level
• Stamina and control in extended technical passages