13 reviews for 215 CD / Scarlatti: Complete piano sonatas vol. 14

1. TACET – 20. November 2015

   This production has been nominated for the ICMA 2016 - the only international music award in the world. The final result with the winners will be published on January 20, 2016.

2. Piano News – 1. October 2015

   Die Gesamteinspielung aller 555 erhaltenen Klaviersonaten von Domenico Scarlatti, die Christoph Ullrich für das Label „TACET“ realisiert, schreitet eifrig voran. Nun liegt bereits die vierzehnte Folge vor, sie umfasst ein späteres Heft mit den Sonaten K. 454 bis 483. Für dieses Mammutprojekt hat sich der gebürtige Göttinger für einen modernen Steinway entschieden, was manche Puristen sicherlich monieren. Indessen verrät das Spiel von Ullrich, dass Kenntnisse der historischen Aufführungspraxis auf den modernen Flügel übertragen werden. kein Dauerpedal und Dauer-Legato, rascherer oder fließende Tempi, eine klare Artikulation und Verzicht auf eine romantisierende Agogik: Hier wird insgesamt äußerst stilsicher musiziert, die Lösungen Ullrichs sind interessant.
   Marco Frei, Piano News

3. Gewandhausmagazin Nr. 87 – 1. July 2015

   There are many (untenable) reasons to underestimate the sonatas of the Neapolitan Domenico Scarlatti: their mostly manageable temporal scope, their perceived similarity, and the atmosphere of playfulness and lightness they generate. Only the second glance at this hermetic cosmos of over 500 gems gives a glimpse of the challenges the discerning interpreter faces. Few have been able to offer convincing exegeses, and many have failed in grappling with these complex treasures.

   Scarlatti's sonatas symbolize nothing less than the celebration of nuance. They embody differentiation. Only in the meticulous unfolding of details do these perfect miniatures reveal their greatness, yield insights, and disclose their secrets. Not many pianists possess the tranquility, sensitive potential, craftsmanship, and appropriate humility to engage with the distant orbits of Scarlatti's oeuvre according to its demands. Among those who have profoundly embraced the sonatas are pianists like Horowitz, Weissenberg, Pogorelich, Sudbin, Ciccolini, Zacharias, or Haskil.

   Since 2011, the Göttingen pianist Christoph Ullrich has been engaged in the ambitious project of a complete recording of Scarlatti's 555 piano sonatas. The parts of the project that are already available demonstrate that he is the right person for this monumental task. Ullrich doesn't merely go through the motions; he scrutinizes each sonata, recognizes its inherent character, delves into details, and, thanks to breathtaking craftsmanship, a multifaceted range of touch, and an enormous sense of color, he presents each of these sonatas as a singular work of art. Volume 14 of the edition deserves a place on the list of world cultural heritage.
   Martin Hoffmeister, Gewandhausmagazin

4. Klassik heute – 4. May 2015

   --> original review

   My first encounter with Domenico Scarlatti's harpsichord sonatas took place in the 1960s with a mono LP recorded by George Malcolm in 1958 for Decca on his 1952 Goff harpsichord. Equipped with numerous registers, this instrument allowed him to deliver an immensely colorful and spirited interpretation of these pieces: each one was shaped into an independent musical cosmos by the English pioneer of harpsichord playing. Neither the instrument nor Malcolm's playing can meet today's demands of historically informed performance practice, yet the recording has retained its enchantment for me from childhood days.

   Christoph Ullrich presents here the third part of his planned complete edition of Domenico Scarlatti's monumental collection of 555 sonatas on two CDs, featuring 30 sonatas. In anticipation of the finished integral collection, which follows the chronologically ordered Kirkpatrick catalog, this double CD is already labeled as "Volume 14."

   In his reviews of the first two double CDs of this planned complete recording, Peter Cossé attested to Christoph Ullrich's smoothness and energy, naming two qualities that complement each other perfectly for a successful rendition of Domenico Scarlatti's diverse piano miniatures. I can therefore wholeheartedly endorse his positive appraisal. In the search for the individuality of each piece, Ullrich never loses sight of the entire cosmos and realizes a genuinely personal Scarlatti style, without falling into a lexically recitative tone, which occasionally struck me negatively when revisiting some of the corresponding sonatas in Scott Ross's complete recording from 1988.
   Detmar Huchting

5. Image Hifi – 6. April 2015

   (…) Alles andere als monoton ist die Klaviermusik von Domenico Scarlatti. 555 Sonaten sind erhalten geblieben. Die erste kreative Aufgabe für den Interpreten liegt schon darin, eine Auswahl zu treffen und eine Trackliste festzulegen. Christoph Ullrich spielt sie in seiner 2011 gestarteteten Gesamtaufnahme in jener Reihenfolge ein, in der sie schon zu Scarlattis Lebzeiten in Bänden zusammengefasst wurden, (…). Ullrich agiert, als seien die Noten (gerne nennt er sie „schwarze Pünktchen auf Papier“) bloß die Textgrundlage für eine von ihm zu erfindende (oder zumindest: zu erfüllende) Rolle. Er schärft Kontraste, sucht Abenteuer, findet Klangvarianten, nutzt Wiederholungen, um darin nochmals freier zu fabulieren:Scarlatti als Experimentierfeld, auf dem man sich von Wissen, Erfahrung und Geschmack, aber eben auch vom pianistischen Instinkt und musikalischer Spontaneität leiten lassen kann. (…)
   Heinz Gelking, Image Hifi

6. MDR Take 5 – Klassik – 9. March 2015

   Die Reise durch den schier unerschöpflichen Tasten-Kosmos Domenico Scarlattis geht mit „Volume 14“ in die nächste Runde. Weitere 30 Preziosen aus dem weit über 500 Sonaten umfassenden Werk des Neapolitaners liegen in unvergleichlicher Klangqualität vor.

   The Göttingen pianist Christoph Ullrich has taken on the mammoth project of recording the complete set and impresses with a pianism that reflects the virtues of legendary colleagues such as Zacharias, Horowitz, Weissenberg, or Pogorelich without ever copying them. Ullrich's approach to Scarlatti's unique and original sonic world is characterized by profound insight, nimbleness, lucidity, and an overflowing affinity for nuance. This recording reaches the interpretative Olympus because it generates a magic that captivates the listener long after the last note has faded away. A celebration of difference, an apotheosis of distinction!
   Martin Hoffmeister, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk