Scarlatti: Sonatas Andrea Molteni

• Domenico Scarlatti (1685 - 1757)
• 1 Scarlatti: Sonata in A Major, K.24 04:46
• 2 Scarlatti: Sonata in A Minor, K.532 03:13
• 3 Scarlatti: Sonata in B-Flat Major, K.266 05:08
• 4 Scarlatti: Sonata in B-Flat Minor, K.131 03:38
• 5 Scarlatti: Sonata in B Major, K.262 04:47
• 6 Scarlatti: Sonata in B Minor, K.173 04:16
• 7 Scarlatti: Sonata in C Major, K.421 03:38
• 8 Scarlatti: Sonata in C Minor, K.126 07:04
• 9 Scarlatti: Sonata in D Major, K.33 03:47
• 10 Scarlatti: Sonata in D Minor, K.138 03:20
• 11 Scarlatti: Sonata in E Major, K.20 03:08
• 12 Scarlatti: Sonata in E Minor, K.232 05:23
• 13 Scarlatti: Sonata in F Major, K.17 04:00
• 14 Scarlatti: Sonata in F Minor, K.184 04:30
• 15 Scarlatti: Sonata in F-Sharp Major, K.319 03:53
• 16 Scarlatti: Sonata in F-Sharp Minor, K.67 01:29
• 17 Scarlatti: Sonata in G Major, K.425 02:57
• 18 Scarlatti: Sonata in G Minor, K.546 05:59
• Total Runtime 01:14:56

Info for Scarlatti: Sonatas

"A strange but wonderful album": one of the accolades for Andrea Molteni’s debut album on Piano Classics, of the piano works by his countrymen Dallapiccola and Petrassi (PCL10222). For a sequel, he turns to the endlessly inventive store of sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, who drew on his own extraordinary abilities at the keyboard to produce the illusion of written improvisations within a basic two-part form which left routine formulas of keyboard composition farther and farther behind.

In a booklet conversation with the pianist and Lisztian Leslie Howard, Molteni explains that he has selected 18 lesser-known sonatas in a sequence which moves through the keys in the manner of The Well-Tempered Clavier, beginning with the A major virtuoso flourishes of K24 and ending with the G minor of K546. Howard praises the clarity and luminosity of Molteni’s touch; the sensitivity of his approach to ornamentation, which carefully emulates the effects and articulation available on a harpsichord as much as possible; strong dynamic contrasts; and the breathing pauses between sections, which allow for a change of registration like a harpsichord stop.

Without observing the traditional pairings of Scarlatti’s sonatas, Molteni’s sequence encompasses the violinistic figurations of the early sonatas from the composer’s residence in Rome as well as the fandangos and guitaristic flourishes of his later and much longer stay in Madrid in service to the Princess (then Queen) Maria Magdalena Barbara. Scarlatti himself professed an aim of ‘ingenious jesting with art’ in a preface to one of volume of sonatas, and Molteni proves himself more than equal to the required balance between musical sophistication and virtuoso demands.

Andrea Molteni, piano

Andrea Molteni
An exciting young Italian piano talent, the 22-year-old Andrea Molteni is developing his international profile with regular appearances in the US, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, China, and Singapore.

As a student at the prestigious International Lake Como Piano Academy, Mr. Molteni enjoys the artistic guidance of William Grant Naboré. In 2020, he was awarded a Master's degree Magna cum Laude in Advanced Performance Studies by the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, and became a Como Fellow at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with world famous professors such as Stanislav Ioudenitch and Dang Thai Son. After he graduated with top marks, honors and honorable mention with Mario Patuzzi, Mr. Molteni took part in various masterclass with Arie Vardi, Pavel Gililov, Piotr Paleczny, Vladimir Feltsman, Christopher O’Riley, Peter Frankl, Katherine Chi, Vovka Ashkenazy and Vincenzo Balzani.

At the age of 15, Mr. Molteni received a special scholarship of Cercle Wagner Association in France, which allowed him to participate at the Bayreuth Festival celebrating the 200thanniversary of Richard Wagner, as well as to perform a series of concerts in Nice, Menton, Cannes, and Monte Carlo. In the same year, Mr. Molteni formed a youth orchestra, “L’Orchestra del Lago”, which he conducted and played with.

Since then he has played at the Wiener Saal of the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Scriabin Museum in Moscow, Concert Hall of Chopin Music University in Warsaw, Chinese Cultural Center in Singapore, National Opera Center in New York, Werner Recital Hall of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and other venues around the world.

Mr. Molteni regularly performs with orchestras, such as Orchestra Antonio Vivaldi, Orchestra Filarmonica Mihail Johra di Bacau in Romania, and Orchestra of the Costa Rica University.

For his upcoming projects, Mr. Molteni focuses on works by Bach, Scarlatti, as well as of lesser known baroque, classical and 20th century Italian composers.

Prizewinner of numerous national and international competitions, he is particularly proud to have received the Grand Prix of the Piano Talents International Competition in Milan (2018) and the second prize at the International Piano Competition “Cesar Franck” in Brussels (2016).

Booklet for Scarlatti: Sonatas