Born in Naples, Oct 26, 1685
Died in Madrid, July 23, 1757
- Son of Neapolitan composer Alessandro Scarlatti, Domenico Scarlatti was best known as a keyboard virtuoso and a composer of keyboard sonatas.
- In 1705 Alessandro sent his son Domenico to Venice to carve out a musical career for himself away from the family influence. Alessandro wrote about Domenico in a letter dated May 30, 1705, describing him as “an eagle whose wings are grown; he must not remain idle in the nest, and I must not hinder his flight.”
- He spent the early part of his career in Italy under his father’s shadow, and the latter part as a court musician in Portugal and Spain.
- Fun facts: Domenico Scarlatti’s friendship with Handel
- They met in Rome and competed against each other in a harpsichord and organ competition.
- Who won? On organ, the winner was Handel; on harpsichord, it was a draw.
- One of Handel’s early biographers, John Mainwaring, attributed to Handel the following quote about Scarlatti: “besides his great talents as an artist, he had the sweetest temper, and the genteelest behavior.”
- The same biographer recounts this anecdote of Handel and Scarlatti meeting in Venice during a masquerade: [Handel] “was discovered there at a Masquerade, while he was playing on a harpsichord in his visor. Scarlatti happened to be there, and affirmed that it could be no one but the famous Saxon, or the devil.” 1
- They met in Rome and competed against each other in a harpsichord and organ competition.
Sources
- Malcolm Boyd and Roberto Pagano, “Scarlatti, (Giuseppe) Domenico,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed January 21, 2020, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278251.