Luciano Sgrizzi - Scarlatti: Vingt-quatre sonates pour clavecin (1984)

It would not be an overstatement to say that this CD contains the best interpretations of Scarlatti on the harpsichord, in the same league with Horowitz's famous recordings of Scarlatti on the piano.
Too often, performances of Scarlatti sonatas on harpsichord are often played too straight, making the pieces sound like Mozart, or with too much rubato, making them sound like Chopin.
In sharp contrast, Mr. Sgrizzi captures all the features that distinguish Scarlatti from other major keyboard composers: dynamic Spanish rhythms, strong but pleasing dissonances, and striking chord changes that are unusual but kept within an 18th-century musical framework.
He takes the time to individually characterize each sonata, playing tempi that just seem right - relaxed but energetic. Using, for lack of a better term, a "hard pluck" harpsichord recorded close to the microphone, he brings a great sense of drama to the sonatas without using anachronistic rubato.
This is playing of distinction that should be owned by all lovers of Scarlatti's music.