Domenico Scarlatti
An Italian composer whose 555 keyboard sonatas became a secret vault of fiery, inventive music that shaped the future of piano writing.
1685–1757 (age 72)·Italian composer·Birthday: October 26
Biography
Domenico Scarlatti spent much of his life in the shadow of his famous father, Alessandro, and in the service of Iberian royalty. As music master to the Portuguese and Spanish courts, his duties were conventional, but his creative output was anything but. In near isolation from the main European currents, he produced a staggering sequence of 555 keyboard sonatas, most intended for his royal pupil, Princess Maria Barbara. These compact, single-movement works are explosions of technical daring and harmonic surprise, filled with the rhythms of Spanish guitar and folk dance. They were largely unpublished in his lifetime, but once discovered, they revealed a mind that had vaulted past the Baroque into a new, intensely personal style that directly prefigured the Classical era and remains a cornerstone of the pianist's repertoire.
#1 When Domenico Was Born
The biggest hits of 1685
Domenico's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1685Born
1690Started school
1698Became a teenager
1701Could drive
1703Could vote
1706Turned 21
1715Turned 30
1725Turned 40
1735Turned 50
1745Turned 60
1755Turned 70
1757Died at 72
Key Achievements
- Composed 555 keyboard sonatas that are foundational works for harpsichordists and pianists.
- Served as the personal music master to Princess Maria Barbara of Portugal and later Spain for most of his career.
- His innovative use of harmony and Iberian folk rhythms significantly influenced the transition from Baroque to Classical music.
- His sonatas, published as 'Essercizi,' gained admiration from composers including Bach, Chopin, and Bartók.
Did You Know?
He was a famed harpsichord virtuoso, and a legendary story tells of a contest in Rome where he was judged superior to Handel on that instrument.
He spent the last 29 years of his life in Spain, never returning to his native Italy.
Nearly all of his sonatas are in binary form (two sections), yet he achieved immense variety within this structure.
“In my sonatas, you will find a studied freedom and a capricious order.”
