T he star turn in [Scarlatti’s] Sonata in A major is no sort of theme or recognizable piece of invention but owes its genesis to the sheer joy of playing. It corresponds to a common strain in the literature according to which Scarlatti thought through his fingers, and his inspiration through the symbiosis of hands and keyboard... Digital freedom is not a ‘given’ here but is subject to a process of argumentation. It is juxtaposed with some standard Baroque diction, the purpose of which seems to be to suppress the ‘unthinking’ virtuosity.”
— Dean Sutcliffe, 2003, p. 276.
DSM: There is a physical immediacy in Scarlatti. There’s compositional respectability, but it seems subordinated to the joy of ‘fingermusik’, as Roberto Pagano termed it. There is intense textured voice-leading and harmonic action...
CMT: This performance received a standing ovation, in the Ottone in Utrecht. You have to remember: Pieter-Jan Belder is now 41—he has ample experience under his belt. Twenty years ago, he studied recorder with Ricardo Kanji at the Royal Conservatory at the Hague, and harpsichord with Robert van Asperen at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, where he graduated in 1990 and subsequently joined the faculty. His physical power makes him a good match for these Scarlatti sonatas. He positions himself relatively high with respect to the keyboard of the instrument. His arms are in extension, elbows extended so the forearms are a few degrees below horizontal. His physical strength enables him to tackle these pieces without breaking a sweat... It makes one envious.
DSM: Belder clearly lets his fingers do the talking—well, his arms and body, too. His account of Scarlatti’s Klaviersonates in Utrecht last week was an historically accurate, empathetic performance.
CMT: But Scarlatti’s musical ‘subject’ seems unconcerned with the listeners: it proceeds, full steam ahead, regardless of anything else.
DSM: Well, yes. That is, I think, what makes it historically accurate. It’s entirely possible you may not like Scarlatti’s Sonatas as music. They may sound too much like etudes—like virtuosic finger exercises. But they are what they are, and Belder took no liberties with them. He didn’t make them into things that they’re not.
CMT: Belder’s performances of Bach are rich and very beautiful—the Goldberg Variations especially so. Very different from the Scarlatti; very different in meaning and intent. So, yes, it’s clear that Belder has both chops and soul—and it’s clear too that he has an historical fastidiousness, in this case an historically correct Scarlatti.
DSM: Haynes new book provides insights into Scarlatti’s compositional techniques and hints that Scarlatti’s probable intentions were to push the instrument makers to change their designs. Haynes conjectures that Scarlatti’s intent was not merely to showcase virtuosic keyboard technique but also to deliberately and shockingly reveal the limitations of the then-current instruments and, in so doing, force the instrument makers to undertake improvements.
CMT: Belder has made an illustrious career as a harpsichordist, clavichordist, organist, recorder player, fortepianist, and conductor. He plays solo recitals but is also much in demand as a continuo player with such ensembles as Amsterdam Bachsolisten, the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, and his own ensemble, Musica Amphion.
T here is a pianist who is an excellent musician and a master of his art, but I have one objection to make to his playing: the finger elevation and velocity are exaggerated [and therefore his fingers’ potential energy and kinetic energy are excessive and unmusical].”
— Heinrich Neuhaus: ‘The Art of Piano Playing’
DSM: He’s recorded for the Erasmus label, notably Das Musikalishes Opfer and Das Wohltemperierte Clavier. He’s done a 10-CD project recording Bach’s Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), the Six Partitas, the sonatas for violin and harpsichord and the Inventionen & Sinfonien (BWV 772-801). He’s also completed recordings of all the keyboard works of the Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. His large CD project (36 CDs planned) recording all the harpsichord sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti will occupy him through 2007, the 250th memorial year of Scarlatti’s death (1685-1757). Last week’s performances at the Oude Muziek Festival in Utrecht were a welcome opportunity to experience the expressive range of which Mr. Belder is capable.
- Oude Muziek Festival, Utrecht
- Pieter-Jan Belder discography on CDuniverse
- Pieter-Jan Belder discography on iBizweb.nl
- Musica Amphion website
- Belder P-J. Domenico Scarlatti Sonatas. (Brilliant, 2007.)
- Haynes B. The End of Early Music. Oxford Univ, 2007.
- Sutcliffe W. The Keyboard Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and Eighteenth-Century Musical Style. Cambridge Univ, 2003.
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