Scarlatti (D): Sonata in C major, Kk461 Angela Hewitt (piano) A film by Höpen Media Filmed at Kulturstiftung Marienmünster, Germany Read more and order the CD: https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68395 *** The Sonata in C major, Kk461, is made up of many contrasting elements, but hangs together in the most wonderful way: it has become one of my favourite sonatas to play. It opens with a horn call in the right hand, echoed by the left. The first sixteen bars, in fact, are made up of motifs that are immediately repeated. In bar 17, though, Scarlatti takes off on a rollercoaster ride in which we momentarily lose all sense of the 3/8 time signature, only just recovering it to start another virtuoso passage beginning in bar 29 with contrary motion scales. The hemiola which he played with in bar 17 reappears in the left hand in bar 50. The second section opens, unexpectedly, in G minor with a wonderful swirling dance over an Alberti bass (a rare thing in Scarlatti’s sonatas). Cleverly, he uses another version of that rollercoaster descent to get us back into a repetition of the contrary motion scales, now in the tonic key of C major. This is a brilliant piece in all respects, and one which gives your fingers real physical pleasure if you can manage it at a good speed. I like to use the fourth pedal on my Fazioli piano for those scales as it results in an even more fluent action without changing the sound. from notes by Angela Hewitt © 2026 *** Follow Angela Hewitt: Facebook - @angela.hewitt.37 X - @HewittJSB Instagram - @angejsb TikTok - @angelajsb1685 BlueSky - @angejsb.bsky.social Follow Hyperion: Instagram / Facebook / X / Bluesky - @hyperionrecords #angelahewitt #hyperion #scarlatti #scarlattidsonatas,vol3