On Scarlatti and Italy
Over a year ago, I posted here about my stay in Siena, Italy, in the summer of 1968. That was the summer between my sophomore and junior years of college, and I was participating in the summer session of the North Carolina School of the Arts.


by Domingo Antoni Velasco
While I was there, I took piano lessons from an Italian gentleman by the name of Vincenzo Vitale. Signor Vitale wanted me to work on some sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) was a Naples-born composer, the son of famed opera composer Alessandro Scarlatti, from whom Domenico received his early musical training. The younger Scarlatti spent much of his life in Venice and Rome, and later in Spain and Portugal. Naples itself was Spanish territory at that time, and both Italians and Spaniards often regard Scarlatti’s work as part of their national heritage. He is best known for his 555 keyboard sonatas, relatively short single-movement pieces, mostly in binary form. Although originally written for the harpsichord, they have been adopted into the standard repertoire for the piano.
So I went into town and bought an edition of 25 Scarlatti Sonate per Clavicembalo, edited by Alessandro Longo and published by Ricordi, a volume which I treasure to this day. I worked wth Signor Vitale on the Sonata in D major, Longo 345, a bright, vivacious work that is very enjoyable to play, despite some treacherous rapid hand crossings. I kept the piece in my repertoire for years, including some corrections that Vitale added to my edition, which I have assumed are authoritative.
A couple of decades later, in a recital in Atlanta in 1988, I paired that sonata with another one in E major, Longo 23. The latter, which I played first, is more moderate in pace, but charming and elegant. In combination, the two contrasting sonatas made a perfect opening for the program. 🙂 The recital was recorded, and I recently produced these two videos from that recording.