Domenico Scarlatti

Domenico Scarlatti (born Naples, 26 October 1685, died Madrid, 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer. His fame rests on his 555 keyboard sonatas. Composed originally as harpsichord exercises for Portuguese Princess Maria Magdalena Bárbara (he later followed her to Madrid when she became Queen of Spain) - Scarlatti called them Essercizi - they have become a staple of the piano repertoire, Vladimir Horowitz being a renowned performer. Famous harpsichord versions are by Wanda Landowska and Ralph Kirkpatrick, and they have also been recorded on the synthesiser by Wendy Carlos. It was Kirkpatrick who catalogued and numbered the sonatas chronologically (though the old L, or Longo, numbers are still occasionally used).