The miraculous triumvirate of 1685 (Bach, Handel and Scarlatti, all born that year) made a curious threesome. The German Handel went to Italy and became the greatest composer of Italian operas, Bach stayed at home to be outshone by his son, while Scarlatti fled Italy to escape his father’s fame and became Spain’s greatest undercover flamenco guitarist – all without leaving the keyboard. Secretive to a fault, Scarlatti’s life is as elusive as his music is thrilling and original. To marry the two is a case for a musical Poirot. This profile of Scarlatti includes more than half an hour of music by the composer. Audio samples are contained in the text: just tap to listen while you read.
