Sonatas
This two-disc set contains a dazzling assortment of music by the Baroque  period's most original keyboard genius. There's no question that Scarlatti's  music was conceived with the harpsichord in mind, and yet the greatest modern  interpreter of his music, Vladimir Horowitz, was a pianist. Mikhail Pletnev  certainly belongs in this elite company. As an interpreter, Pletnev has a  reputation for willfulness and eccentricity--but then again if anyone can be  called eccentric, it's Scarlatti. The secret of playing this music on the piano  lies in making it sound as though it was written for the instrument. In other  words, don't try to make the piano sound like a harpsichord. Pletnev doesn't. He  brings the full range of pianistic resources to bear on each piece, and the  results are staggeringly good.--David Hurwitz