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Italian Sonatas

Centaur Records

$15.99 Apr 18, 2025

This album features three first-rate, greatly underperformed, Italian Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Respighi, Martucci, and Rota are all three wonderful composers, and it shows clearly in these works. Italian artists Fabrizio Falasca and Antonio Pompa-Baldi infuse these three great works with the life they deserve.

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Italian Sonatas
Centaur Records Apr 2025
CD
$15.99

Corelli after Schickhardt - Triosonatas

IBS Classical

$17.99 May 03, 2024

Serendipia Ensemble, Rita Rógar, and Moisés Maroto, together with their ensemble of musicians—Darío Tamayo on the harpsichord, Calia Álvarez on the viola da gamba, José Arsenio Rueda on the baroque bassoon, and Jon Wasserman exchanging his plucked string instruments (theorbo and baroque guitar)—have recorded the complete sonatas. Premiering worldwide with the record label IBS Classical.

With this large continuo group, Serendipia Ensemble seeks a unique musical approach to the concept of the triosonata, finding the common ground between the concerto form conceived by Corelli and the sonata form arranged by Schickhardt. We are now able to hear, with layering of different instruments, the triosonatas approach the concerti in sections such as the tutti-soli that we appreciate in the Corellian originals.

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Corelli after Schickhardt - Triosonatas
IBS Classical May 2024
CD
$17.99

Pierné: Flute Sonata, Piano Trio / Matuz, Szelecsenyi
Marco Polo May 1991
CD
$19.99

Giardini: 6 Sonatas for violin and continuo, Op. 1, London 1

Tactus

$21.99 Jan 30, 2026

This release is devoted to the complete set of six Sonatas for Violin and Basso Continuo, Op. 1 by Felice Giardini (also known as Degiardino), published in London in 1751. Born in Turin in 1716, and passing away in Moscow in 1796, Giardini stands as a bridge between eras and styles, forging a distinctive voice, in which diverse musical languages merge with remarkable balance. A virtuoso of string instruments, he masterfully explored their possibilities, during the delicate transition from the Baroque to the early Classical period, an era often defined as the galant style. The Op. 1 collection belongs to Giardini's early years, and it's formal structure reflects typical Baroque conventions: all six sonatas are laid out in three movements, alternating fast and slow tempi, occasionally bearing the markings of stylized dance forms (such as minuets, and gigues) reminiscent of Baroque suites. The main performers of this rediscovery, are I Solisti Ambrosiani (v. tc 681302, tc 670203, tc 670291) with Davide Belosio on violin, Claudio Frigerio on cello, and Nicola Bisotti on harpsichord.

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Giardini: 6 Sonatas for violin and continuo, Op. 1, London 1
Tactus Jan 2026
CD
$21.99

Mix & Match

Paradisi: Sonate per clavicembalo / Molaschi

Tactus

$29.99 Nov 05, 2021

The repertoire included in this recording by Marco Molaschi represents an important evidence in the panorama of harpsichord music of the eighteenth century. It was precisely as a harpsichord and singing teacher that Paradisi met his success in London, where he moved after his studies in his native Naples. Charles Burney - an important historian of English music - called him “the great master of the harpsichord”. The sonatas in the collection - dedicated to King George II of England - were published in 1754, precisely in the composer’s London period and contributed significantly to affirming his fame as a virtuoso and composer of keyboard music.

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Paradisi: Sonate per clavicembalo / Molaschi
Tactus Nov 2021
CD
$29.99

Scharwenka: Violin Sonatas

Capriccio

$16.99 May 02, 2025

After a prolonged period during which they were ignored wholesale, the compositions of both Philipp and Xaver Scharwenka are performed again - occasionally, anyway-and some of them have been seen the light of day on record. However, no discographic attempt has yet been made to explore their music in relation to each other, which might seem surprising, given their very similar artistic influences and the close connection between the two composing brothers. In this collection, Yoerae Kim and Matteo Weber demonstrate their sensitivity to a dramaturgically cohesive program, which highlights those intriguing biographical connections. They pair a violin sonata by each brother with a serenade and a suite, spanning a creative period of some 35 years.

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Scharwenka: Violin Sonatas
Capriccio May 2025
CD
$16.99

Scriabin: Complete Piano Sonatas / Donohoe

SOMM Recordings

$32.99 Feb 03, 2017

Russia produced three renowned composer-pianists at the end of the nineteenth century: Medtner, Rachmaninov, and his fellow student at the Moscow Conservatoire, Alexander Scriabin, a unique figure in Russian music as he seemed to follow a musical path all his own, completely different to that of either of his contemporaries. He created an original, exotic soundworld which progressed from Chopinesque romanticism in the First Sonata to a world of fantasy, inhabited by uncompromising, audacious dissonances in the later Sonatas which make overwhelming demands on any performer who dares to tackle them. In his third Sonata Scriabin provided descriptions of the four movements under the heading ‘States of the Soul’. In the Fourth he experimented with Wagner’s Tristan harmonies. By the Sixth Sonata Scriabin’s harmonic tonality had completely broken down and dissipated – “frightening...dark and mysterious, impure, dangerous” as he himself wrote. The Seventh Sonata (White Mass) instructs the performer to play ‘with a heavenly voluptuousness’, ‘with a dark majesty’... Through the music he wanted to express an ecstatic disorder creating a trance-like effect on performer and audience. The Ninth (Black Mass) represents the Satanic but the Tenth has an opening marked ‘very sweetly and pure’. He said of this, ‘My Tenth Sonata is a sonata of insects. Insects are born from the sun, they are the kisses of the sun.’ These works are performed by legendary pianist Peter Donahoe.

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Scriabin: Complete Piano Sonatas / Donohoe
SOMM Recordings Feb 2017
CD
$32.99

Chamber Music – Piano Sonata / Viola Sonata / Suite for Solo Viola / 6 Bagatelles
Naxos Dec 2008
CD
$19.99

Sonates & Suites

BIS

SACD

$21.99 May 13, 2016

Dan Laurin has released around thirty albums on BIS since the beginning of his collaboration in 1987. Laurin’s recorder music spans the globe and across the years, from England to Japan, and from the Renaissance to today. This latest release journeys to early 18th century France, and features composers such as Nicolas Chedeville, Anne Danican Philidor, Charles Dieupart, Marin Marais, and more.

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Sonates & Suites
BIS May 2016
SACD
$21.99

Schocker: Sonatas for Flute & Piano / Odell, Stroud

Centaur Records

$18.99 Nov 15, 2019

Gary Schocker has composed some of the greatest works for flute of the past half-century. Included on this new release are his Sonatas for Flute and Piano Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9, performed by Leslie Neighbor Stroud. Leslie Neighbor Stroud, flute, received her Bachelor’s degree in Flute Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music where she was a student of Britton Johnson (National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra) and Timothy Day (San Francisco Symphony Orchestra). She has also studied with Lois Schaefer (Boston Symphony Orchestra), Walfrid Kujala (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and Mark Sparks (St. Louis Symphony Orchestra) and baroque flute with Suzanne Stumpf (Musicians of the Old Post Road), as well as participating in the master classes of Gary Schocker, Julius Baker, Bonita Boyd and William Bennett. Leslie currently performs with the Pentangle Arts Orchestra, BarnArts Festival Orchestra, Pro Musica Vermont, Guilford Music Festival Orchestra, Cameo Baroque (a period instrument ensemble), Buttonwood Wind Quintet, the Richard Faith Ensemble, and the Sterling String Quartet. She has performed with New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, The Plymouth Philharmonic, New Bedford Festival Theater, the Tri-County Symphonic Band, the Buzzards Bay Musicfest, the Savannah Symphony Orchestra, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Peabody Wind Quintet, the Bellemore Ensemble of Baltimore, the Mozart Festival of Alameda, and the Trinity Chamber Concerts of California.

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Schocker: Sonatas for Flute & Piano / Odell, Stroud
Centaur Records Nov 2019
CD
$18.99

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A. Scarlatti: Cecilian Vespers - Scarlatti / McGegan, Philharmonia Baroque
Philharmonia Baroque Productions Jul 2015
CD
~~$29.99~~ $14.99

Sale

Ysaÿe: Sonatas for Solo Violin
Avie Records May 2014
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Geminiani: Sonatas Vol 1 / Mosca, Pianca, Paronuzzi

Stradivarius

$18.99 Feb 01, 2012

GEMINIANI Violin sonatas, op. 4/1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 12 • Liana Mosca (vn); Antonio Mosca (vc); Luca Pianca (archlute); Giorgio Paronuzzi (hpd) (period instruments) • STRADIVARIUS 33853 (67:41)

William S. Newman, in his massive study of the Baroque sonata, listed Francesco Geminiani’s sonatas for violin and continuo (op. 1 from 1716 and op. 4 from two decades later) and for violin and cello (op. 5) and judged Geminiani’s knowledge of the violin to equal that of Giuseppe Tartini or Pietro Locatelli (the latter of whom, like Geminiani, had been a pupil of Arcangelo Corelli, though a more technically adventurous one), but considered his style to be more conservative. Of the six sonatas presented by Liana Mosca, Antonio Mosca (her father), Luca Pianca, and Georgio Paronuzzi, all but two consist of four movements (the others numbering three); none of the movements’ titles give a hint of their dance-like elements or rondo forms. Almost all the sonatas have been cast in major keys. Geminiani would later rework six of the 12 sonatas of op. 4 (including No. 1 and No. 7 from Stradivarius’s collection) as concerti grossi. While Mosca remarks in a personal note in the booklet that Geminani’s sonatas from op. 4 haven’t received a great deal of attention, Rüdiger Lotter included the First, Eighth, Ninth, and 10th (two from Mosca’s selection) in a program released on Oehms 356 that also included several sonatas from Antonio Maria Veracini’s op. 1 ( Fanfare 29:1).

Geminiani revised the sonatas of his op. 1 at about the same time as he published op. 4 and included in the new edition of op. 1 the kinds of ornaments that make so striking an impression in Mosca’s performance of op. 4, as in the First Sonata’s Adagio (and also that of the Third Sonata). In that movement, she also displays a rhythmic and dynamic flexibility to create a capricious expressive sensibility that apparently suits not only the works themselves but Geminiani’s reputation as an expressive performer (among some: Tartini called him il furibondo , while John Hawkins thought he lacked the fire of the later violinists of his era). The sonata’s second movement isn’t fugal; it depends for its effect on the piquancy of its homophonic lines, of which Mosca gives a tangy account. The continuo provides an ingratiating strumming accompaniment in the Largo, a backdrop against which Mosca makes at times startling adjustments to the solo’s dynamic level; the finale includes surprises after dramatic pauses, and Mosca times them with the acute sensibility of a persuasive rhetorician. In general, she produces a twangy though by no means sharp-edged tone from her violin (and a perhaps surprisingly full one from its lower registers), described as a Venetian instrument from about 1750.

Mosca and the ensemble bring vivacious wit to the second movement of the Seventh Sonata and its jaunty subject (do these suggest the stolidity for which Geminiani has sometimes been condemned?) and spice to the ornamentation of the sonata’s third movement, Moderato. The Adagio of the Third Sonata showcases, as well as the encrustations of ornamentation mentioned earlier, the sudden gestures that make the sonatas sound inventive, at least from an expressive point of view (that sense of invention, continues, reaching almost to the level of improvisation, in the ensuing Allegro). The Sixth Sonata, again in D Major, at first seems almost somber compared to the three that precede it on the program, until Mosca dispels whatever gloom might have enshrouded it with her bright gaiety in the second movement; similarly, she shifts from the almost romantic sensibility of the sonata’s Andante to crisp Gallic sprightliness (Geminiani spent time in Paris) in the final movement, recalling a similar vein in the works of Jean-Marie Leclair (also a musical descendent of Corelli, this time through Giovanni Battista Somis). The two three-movement sonatas omit the slow movement; what they lose in affetuoso they gain in starchiness (although the last Allegro of the 10th Sonata includes a slow episode that almost replaces the missing movement). A multisectional fantasy serves as the first movement of the 12th Sonata’s three.

Lotter deploys a more astringent tone in his recording but he hardly stints on ornamental or expressive detail. Still, Mosca’s unaffected geniality, dramatic Luftpausen , and rhetorical sensibility breathe extra life into her performances.

With its clean recorded sound, its imaginative performances, and its ingratiating literature, Mosca’s selection of Geminiani’s sonatas might serve either as a favorable introduction to the works of the composer for those who aren’t familiar with him or an enjoyable reminder for those who know him that he brought more than Corelli’s teachings to London. Strongly recommended to all types of listeners.

FANFARE: Robert Maxham

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Geminiani: Sonatas Vol 1 / Mosca, Pianca, Paronuzzi
Stradivarius Feb 2012
CD
$18.99

Biber: The Mystery Sonatas / Reiter, Cordaria

Signum Classics

$27.99 Jan 01, 2001

Praise cannot be too high for Cordaria. For me this is quite simply the best recording of this music I have ever heard... Their blend, sensitivity and recorded balance are always immaculate, beautiful and at times tear-jerking. Highly recommended.

The ‘Mystery Sonatas’ consist of 15 short suites for violin and continuo whose inspiration lies in the so-called 15 mysteries of the Virgin Mary; effectively 15 meditations which are sometimes directly programmatic and sometimes more elusive. They divide into three groups of five. The Joyful Mysteries are based on episodes in Jesus’s early life, the Nativity for example; the middle group are the Sorrowful Mysteries like ‘The Crown of Thorns’ etc; and the final group are the Glorious Mysteries which continue the story from the Resurrection to the Assumption and then to the Coronation of the Virgin. The whole work is capped off by a grand unaccompanied Passacaglia for Violin. The whole sequence lasts about two hours and a quarter and is therefore on two discs. Sadly the middle group of five has had to be divided, with the last one, the Crucifixion, on the second disc.

Biber composed these works for Archbishop Max Gandolph. Peter Holman, who I am delighted to find writing programme notes for this disc as he has a proven track record of expertise in the field of 17th Century instrumental music, tells us that "Biber pointed out in his dedication that Max Gandolph was strongly in favour of the Rosary in Salzburg". Also we learn that "the cycle was used in the traditional Rosary devotions in September and October … and the faithful as they walked in procession would have listened to appropriate biblical passages and commentaries and to Biber’s music whilst meditating of their Rosaries". The manuscript also contains fifteen elegant roundels, which were relevant to the subject of each sonata. Nine of these have been reprinted in black and white and are scattered around the booklet. There is also a musical quotation from the Sonata XI and the violin tunings needed for each sonata are given. Some are quite extraordinary. But what makes these sonatas virtuoso compositions for the performer and (I am sure for the composer) is that once re-tuned the notation remains as usual, to correspond with the continuo harmony. This technique is called Scordatura and many violinists dread it. Walter Reiter appears undaunted and unflappable, more so than any other player I have ever heard. The reason for some of these tunings is quite obvious and indeed programmatic. For example the beautiful ‘Ascension’ sonata has a C major tuning, g-c-g-d. Contrast that with the 9th Sonata ‘Jesus carries his own cross’ in A minor, tuned to straining point c-e-a-e in other words raised a 4th giving a rather strangled effect.

Apart from these unique sets of tunings there are other programmatic elements in the music. The ‘Resurrection’ sonata is the only one in one continuous and untitled movement. It begins in total stillness - the dawn of Easter Morning. The free recitativic tempo gradually builds so that in the brightness of the morning sun [c.2’15"] the empty tomb is displayed. Then enters, at first quietly, the Easter Chorale melody ‘Surrexit Christus Hodie’. Incidentally the tuning in this sonata is so odd that the effect is literally unearthly. In the ‘Ascension’ sonata (number 12) the violinist is expected with his terrifically difficult double stoppings to imitate a choir of trumpets in the ‘Aria tubicinium’ [track 7].

In the ‘Crucifixion’ sonata the rending of the veil over ‘the holy of holies’ is vividly portrayed (track 4).

Most of the sonatas have several movements and several have dance titles. Some have Aria’s followed by Variations. Dances include ‘Allmans’ and ‘Correntes’ which are slipped curiously into movements like ‘The Visitation’ sonata and the ‘Nativity’ sonata. Presumably on the grounds of ‘why should the devil have the best tunes?’

Praise cannot be too high for Cordaria. For me this is quite simply the best recording of this music I have ever heard. Credit should go of course to Walter Reiter. Timothy Roberts on the chamber organ or harpsichord and Elizabeth Kenny on the theorbo along with Joanna Levine on the gamba with Frances Kelly, a very experienced influence, on the harp and Mark Levey on a Lirone make a ‘dream team’.

Their blend, sensitivity and recorded balance are always immaculate, beautiful and at times tear-jerking. Highly recommended.

-- Gary Higginson, MusicWeb International

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Biber: The Mystery Sonatas / Reiter, Cordaria
Signum Classics Jan 2001
CD
$27.99

BEETHOVEN: PIANO SONATAS

TACET Musikproduktion

$23.99 Jan 15, 2009

Very old - and yet completely new! Beethoven sonatas once again? Yes, once again. For the Austrian pianist Markus Schirmer really has something to say to Beethoven. The way Schirmer illuminates the text and places emphasis on certain aspects is very fresh and personal. A must? - Yes, a must!" (Wiener Zeitung)

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BEETHOVEN: PIANO SONATAS
TACET Musikproduktion Jan 2009
CD
$23.99

Beethoven, Brahms, Messiaen, Scarlatti & Scriabin: Meeting My Shadow / Gigashvili

Alpha

$15.99 ~~$20.99~~ Save 25% Apr 28, 2023

Giorgi Gigashvili is only twenty-two, but he is already hitting the headlines: now a pupil of Nelson Goerner, he is a protégé of Martha Argerich, who gave him the urge to play the piano alongside his first love, pop singing: at the age of thirteen, he was a contestant in The Voice in his homeland, Georgia, and won the prize! A few years later, Argerich discovered him at a piano competition, and he went on to win prizes at several more, including the Hortense Anda-Bührle Prize at the Géza Anda Competition in Zurich in 2021. Another high-flying mentor, the violinist Lisa Batiashvili, asked him to play him the piano on her recording of the Franck Violin Sonata. His free and spectacular playing impresses, his creativity and personality astonish. Here he presents his first recital, revealing his palette of colours: Scarlatti, Beethoven, Scriabin and Messiaen. But never far away is his shadow, the singer of the electro band Tsduneba (‘temptation’ in Georgian) which he founded with his friends.

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Beethoven, Brahms, Messiaen, Scarlatti & Scriabin: Meeting My Shadow / Gigashvili
Alpha Apr 2023
CD
~~$20.99~~ $15.99

Sarti: 6 Sonatas for Traversiere Flute & B.C.

Brilliant Classics

$9.99 ~~$12.99~~ Save 25% Mar 21, 2025

As is the case with so many 18th-century composers, Giuseppe Sarti (1727-1802) enjoyed fame in his lifetime to rival W. A. Mozart's but is scarcely known today. Some might remember him as the author of the aria "Come un agnello", borrowed by Mozart in Don Giovanni. After all, Sarti's arias were in his lifetime regarded as true models of Italian style. Even after his death, they were regularly performed in the salons of the nobility. But by about 1840 the memory of the man and his works had largely faded. In recent decades, however, there has been a renewed focus on Sarti; not only for his compositions, but also for his merits as a pedagogue and theorist. The 6 Sonate a Flauto Traversiero solo e Basso Continuo were published in Paris by Christophe Le Menu. The date of publication, 1772, can be deduced from an advertisement that appeared in a periodical late that year. It is a collection of sonatas definitely conceived for an audience at a more professional than amateur level, with writing decidedly suited to the instrumental peculiarities of the transverse flute, which, according to the taste of the time, took as it's model the singing qualities of the human voice. This allowed Sarti to take advantage of his skill at composing operas in order to write particularly touching, even dramatic melodies, with typically theatrical affects such as in the Largo and Cantabile of the First Sonata or the Andante of the Fourth Sonata, both in the key of G minor, which on the transverse flute is, with it's veiled timbre, delicately affectionate. In the context of what is one of the main characteristics of flute (and violin) writing by Italian composers, Sarti employs an articulation dominated by legato, clearly diversifying himself, as did the French composers, from the predominantly articulated style that prevailed with German composers. The remarkably flautistic writing, for a composer who did not play the instrument nor wrote much instrumental music in general, suggests he may have been in contact with a flute virtuoso who either advised or inspired him. A credible hypothesis is that a collaboration with the orchestra of the Grand Duchy of Florence led him to work closely with it's principal flautist, the virtuoso Niccolo Dôthel. Other information: - Recorded December 2023 in Florence - Booklet in English contains liner notes by the harpsichordist, Giacomo Benedetti, along with profiles of all three players - Liner notes and biographical information in Italian available at brilliantclassics. Com - Giuseppe Sarti (1729-1802), an Italian composer primarily known for his operatic works, also contributed significantly to instrumental music. His flute sonatas exemplify the elegance and refinement of late Baroque and early Classical styles. - Sarti's flute sonatas are characterized by their lyrical melodies, which reflect the influence of vocal music, a hallmark of his operatic background. The sonatas typically follow the three-movement structure -fast-slow-fast- that was common in the 18th century. The first movements are often lively, with energetic, flowing lines for the flute, while the middle movements tend to be more expressive, allowing the instrument to display it's capacity for emotional nuance. The final movements bring a spirited conclusion, often featuring dance-like rhythms. - These sonatas were likely written for amateur musicians, given the rising popularity of the flute in domestic music-making circles of the time. As a result, they strike a balance between technical accessibility and artistic depth. - Played by Giovanni Miszczyszyn (Traversiere flute, made by Luca Ripanti in Turin/ Italy 2023, after Carlo Alberto Felice Palanca around 1760), Valeria Brunelli and Giacomo Benedetti. Giovanni Miszczyszyn studied with Peter Lucas Graf, and followed Master Classes with Aurele Nicolet and Jean-Pierre Rampal. At the same time he specialized in Baroque flute in seminars and classes with Barthold Kuijken and Pierre Sechet.

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Sarti: 6 Sonatas for Traversiere Flute & B.C.
Brilliant Classics Mar 2025
CD
~~$12.99~~ $9.99

Il trionfo dell'onore

Dynamic

Blu-Ray

$29.99 Nov 21, 2025

Alessandro Scarlatti's Il trionfo dell'onore (The Triumph of Honour) - his only comic opera - was first performed in Naples in 1718. With it's distinctive recitatives and expressive arias, and a cast including four pairs of lovers, it can be considered one of the forerunners of opera buffa. The central character is the unrepentant seducer Riccardo Albenori, a Don Giovanni-like figure though without the villainous aura. In this opera, Scarlatti ensures not only perceptive psychology but a rich variety of arias, duets and quartets that generate the work's pathos as well as it's humour and eroticism.

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Il trionfo dell'onore
Dynamic Nov 2025
Blu-Ray
$29.99

Mix & Match

Cimarosa: Keyboard Sonatas Vol 1 / Victor Sangiorgio

Naxos

$19.99 Mar 31, 2009

CIMAROSA Keyboard Sonatas: R 1–18 • Victor Sangiorgio (pn) • NAXOS 8.570718 (66: 49)

I’ve only heard a small amount of Cimarosa’s music—a smattering of mediocre concerto movements, a few scattered vocal works, and of course the fine opera, Il matrimonio segreto , his only work with a significant recorded history. This constitutes a considerable demotion for the most renowned Italian composer of the late 18th century during his lifetime. As for his keyboard works, the 87 movements attributed to Cimarosa are shrouded in mystery. They weren’t discovered until 1927 (and not in the composer’s hand), contemporaneous accounts of their existence are absent, and there is no hard evidence for the purpose of their composition. Even the grouping of the pieces into two or three movement “sonatas” is largely arbitrary, accomplished apparently by the editors of published editions, although the otherwise excellent notes are ambiguous on the subject.

The first composer who springs to mind after these written descriptions and initial hearings is Domenico Scarlatti, whose similarly brief keyboard sonatas have long been standard fare. There is no issue of provenance in his case, and keyboard works were his bread and butter, not an afterthought, as appears to be the case with Cimarosa. However, the possible sonata linkage of movements in identical keys is a well-litigated point for both. Given Cimarosa’s era, we should be examining these pieces alongside the piano works of Haydn and Mozart. Yet, there are so few similarities in style and scale that such a comparison appears fruitless. Again, the more apt relationship is to his countryman Scarlatti, even though the Baroque composer was born nearly 70 years earlier. Remarkably, the sonatas of the much older composer sound more advanced. Scholars are uncertain if Cimarosa heard Scarlatti’s sonatas, but the connections seem undeniable. Listen to the first movement of the Sonata in G Minor (Rossi 10), with its conversation between hands and melodically arpeggiated figures at cadences that are repeated at the end of long phrases, a Scarlatti trademark if ever there was one. Similar commonalities in texture, mood, and melodic construction present themselves throughout this disc.

When I’m asked by a classical-music novice whom to recommend as an introduction to the art, Scarlatti is often the first name that comes to mind, since his music reveals its merits on only one or two hearings, and its brevity fits seamlessly into our pop-song culture (neither of these observations should be construed as criticisms). I could add Cimarosa’s morsels to this short list, except, to put it bluntly, there is a significant gap in quality between the two composers.

Interested listeners should also take note of a single disc of 32 Cimarosa sonatas by Evgeny Soifertis on Meridian, a two-disc set of the complete sonatas by Marcella Crudeli on Arcobaleno, and another by Andrea Coen on Stradivarius. These works were clearly written for the harpsichord, although all three of these recordings use the piano. The recorded sound is satisfactory, and Victor Sangiorgio plays with stylish intimacy.

FANFARE: Michael Cameron

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Cimarosa: Keyboard Sonatas Vol 1 / Victor Sangiorgio
Naxos Mar 2009
CD
$19.99

Weiss: Lute Sonatas Vol 9 / Robert Barto

Naxos

$19.99 Apr 29, 2008

Barto is the most eloquent of them all.

Robert Barto’s distinguished Weiss recordings for Naxos have now reached volume nine. As before he demonstrates a wide range of tone colours, immaculate technical address and an unerring appreciation of Weiss’ quasi-improvisational style. The result is a trio of performances that in every way meets the expectations now placed in the lutenist. And if none of these works approaches the majesty of those contained in, say volume seven of the series (see review) then one must also concede that they nevertheless contain all those elements that make Weiss so noble, so expressive and so powerfully important a composer in this milieu.

The C minor sonata, cast in six movements, is by some way the longest and grandest of the three here. The extensive French overture is beautifully nuanced in all three of its sections, Barto’s technical armoury entirely equal to the demands placed on it and his colouristic sense fully engaged from the start. The Campanella-like Bourée sees him emphasise the bell like articulation implicit within it and he does so with brilliant articulation. As ever he plays Weiss’s slow movement with affecting lyricism; the most impressive in this set is the Siciliana of this C minor, which is taken at a suitably slow tempo. The concerto-like flourishes of the Presto finale are despatched with aplomb, the writing rich and externalised, and the playing virtuosic.

The F major [No.32] is an earlier work written conjecturally some time between 1720 and 1725. It’s performed in the Dresden version as three copies survive, representing two different versions. Its Allemande is refined and leisurely and full of decorative assurance but for me the highlight is the Bourée. Not only is this an example of Weiss at his most uplifting but it also reveals some of Barto’s great strengths – an ability to infuse the music with the most buoyant and immaculate rhythmic incisiveness allied to great warmth of tonal resources. These qualities are heightened by the succeeding cantabile of the Sarabande and by the Gigue that concludes the sonata. One of the revisions undertaken by Weiss was to replace a Gigue in 6/8 with one in 9/8 and the result is engaging and buoyant.

The final work stands at a slight remove from its companions. The G minor No.94 derives from a manuscript in the Glinka Museum in Moscow, music conjecturally brought to Russia from Dresden by Weiss’ pupil Bielogradsky. Whatever the exact origin or derivation it’s a small, charming series of dances with a delightful Paisane and a rare, early use of the Polonaise in its penultimate movement.

The recording, made in St Andrew’s Church, Toddington, is once again first class and Tim Crawford’s notes enhance this characteristically fine disc. Barto has competitors in Weiss recordings – Imamura and Lindberg among them - but for my money he is the most eloquent of them all, and this comprehensive series is a tribute to his skill and involvement.

Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International

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Weiss: Lute Sonatas Vol 9 / Robert Barto
Naxos Apr 2008
CD
$19.99

Domenico Scarlatti & Jose de Nebra: Stabat Mater & Salve Reg

Lauda

$20.99 Oct 23, 2026

Two composers, two works devoted to Our Lady, and two ways of expressing sorrow and supplication through music. This recording brings together Domenico Scarlatti and Jose de Nebra around two of the great texts of Marian devotion. Scarlatti's Stabat Mater, one of the pinnacles of the sacred vocal repertoire, dazzles with it's imposing ten-voice writing and refined contrapuntal craft. Nebra's setting-composed within the milieu of the Real Capilla for a reduced ensemble-possesses remarkable expressive power and a pronounced theatrical accent. In his Salve Regina for solo soprano, strings, and continuo, Scarlatti explores a more intimate and virtuosic dimension in what is considered his final work. Nebra, by contrast, chooses an expressive restraint for the same text. La Grande Chapelle thus presents a compelling dialogue between two major figures of eighteenth-century music in the Iberian Peninsula, whose paths converged around the figure of Queen Maria Barbara of Braganza.

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Domenico Scarlatti & Jose de Nebra: Stabat Mater & Salve Reg
Lauda Oct 2026
CD
$20.99

Martha Argerich Live, Vol. 11: Concerti, Suites, Sonatas & Szenen

Doremi

$40.99 Jan 20, 2023

The eminent Martha Argerich is one of the most loved and admired classical pianists of all time. She quickly gained and maintained world-wide reputation for her exciting performances. This set is the 11th volume of DOREMI's special series of live performances and broadcasts featuring the artistry of the young Martha Argerich. Most items are first release ever. The performances here are live recordings from her Venice recital in February 1969, and from her Cologne broadcast in September 1960.

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Martha Argerich Live, Vol. 11: Concerti, Suites, Sonatas & Szenen
Doremi Jan 2023
CD
$40.99

Marcello: Sonate per Flauto e Basso, Op. 2 - Opere per Clavi
Tactus Jan 2005
CD
$21.99

Rebay: Sonatas For Flute And Guitar / Belotto, Noque

Brilliant Classics

$13.99 Nov 13, 2012

An instrument that is almost entirely absent from the output of the great pre- twentieth-century composers, the guitar has long been viewed as a means to discovering new repertoire and neglected composers. One such example is Ferdinand Rebay, whose works (which have only recently come to light) present a unique case in bridging the central-European gap. This release is dedicated to his two Sonatas for Flute and Guitar.

Rebay believed that the blending of wind and guitar timbres produced a far more attractive sound than that of winds and piano, and the two sonatas – written in 1942 – date from an immensely productive period as regards the composer’s chamber duo output for guitar. Heavy in dialogue, they reveal a technique deeply rooted in Viennese tradition; from the Neoclassical style of the First, whose Scherzo exudes Beethovenian inspiration, to the stirringly Romance feel of the Second, with its broad phrasing and intensely lyrical passagework, these are two strikingly different works of character that together illuminate a fascinating area of past-century music-making.

In representing the first recording of the two sonatas – works that currently exist only in manuscript form – this release forms a significant addition to Brilliant Classics’ chamber music discography. The two young Spanish artists on the disc, Mari?a Jose? Belotto and Gonzalo Noque? (who created the performing editions), set a high standard with their virtuosic display, arguing a strong case for why this composer deserves to be better known.

OTHER INFORMATION:
• First recordings of the works, made in 2011.
• Performing editions from the manuscripts by Gonzalo Noque?.
• Includes booklet notes and biographies of the performers.

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Rebay: Sonatas For Flute And Guitar / Belotto, Noque
Brilliant Classics Nov 2012
CD
$13.99

BIBER: ROSARY SONATAS

GLOSSA

$22.00 ~~$22.01~~ Save 0% Feb 27, 2026

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber is one of the most important violinists of the Baroque period, and his virtuoso violin works are among the gems of this era. His Rosary Sonatas are particularly outstanding: in a cycle of 16 sonatas, Biber sets to music the mysteries of the various Rosary prayers that trace the life of Jesus. As a special feature, Biber uses the so-called scordatura technique, in which the strings of the violin are retuned. Biber requires a new tuning for each sonata, thus creating a new sound for each mystery and a great increase in tension throughout the cycle. Leila Schayegh explores Biber's rosary mysteries with great sensitivity. With her stupendous technique, she plays even the most difficult passages with great purity, portraying Biber's master cycle as a very intimate and atmospheric soundscape.

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BIBER: ROSARY SONATAS
GLOSSA Feb 2026
CD
~~$22.01~~ $22.00

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