The Complete Works, Volume VI: Piano Book

This volume captures ten consecutive sonatas in the Longo numbering system, creating natural opportunities to study Scarlatti's stylistic range across a substantial sequence. The Kalmus edition presents these works clearly and affordably, making it feasible to assign multiple sonatas to advanced students without excessive cost. Repertoire this varied and technically rewarding encourages pianists to think beyond Classical-era sonata forms and hear the keyboard imagination of the High Baroque on its own terms.

Brisk, ingenious, and playful. Scarlatti's sonatas pulse with rhythmic energy and sudden harmonic turns that keep both player and listener alert. There is an improvisatory quality to many of these works, as though the composer were exploring the keyboard's possibilities in real time, discovering each phrase anew.

Advanced pianists and upper-level students ready to engage with Baroque keyboard music that moves beyond Bach. Teachers seeking to broaden their students' exposure to the stylistic range of the era will find this collection essential; Scarlatti's accessibility and sheer inventiveness make even difficult passages rewarding to practice.

• Shape each sonata's opening gesture with clarity; Scarlatti often launches into immediately recognizable material that anchors the listener before harmonic or textural surprises emerge.
• Approach hand-crossing passages as compositional events, not obstacles. The visual and sonic drama of crossed hands was central to Scarlatti's keyboard conception, so execute them with confidence rather than apologetically.
• Observe the dance rhythms embedded in many of these works. Even when not explicitly marked, the underlying pulse often suggests a minuet, gigue, or Spanish folk idiom that will inform articulation and phrasing.
• Use the recorded accompaniment if available, but first spend time understanding the harmonic architecture on its own. Scarlatti's chords often move by unexpected intervals, and recognizing that shift in real time strengthens interpretation.

Pair these sonatas with Bach and Handel to illustrate the breadth of High Baroque keyboard writing, or program a single Scarlatti sonata as an intermission piece to lighten the mood between weightier works. For student recitals, a well-prepared sonata from this volume signals technical and musical maturity without requiring the extended preparation demanded by a Classical concerto.

• Hand independence and crossing techniques
• Recognition of Spanish and Portuguese harmonic inflections in Baroque music
• Quick harmonic analysis and voice-leading in non-functional contexts
• Ornamentation practice and stylistically informed embellishment
• Rapid scales, arpeggios, and keyboard figurations at various tempos