Benedetto Marcello, Piano Sonatas

Piano International (Sep, 2013)
The name of Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739) hangs around the fringes of the musical world these days, the esteem he enjoyed in the 18th century long since forgotten. His worklist has suffered over the years as music attributed to him was reclaimed for other composers; to claim, as here, that he wrote ‘piano’ sonatas is perhaps an attempt to redress the balance. They’re generally simple fare, in two parts, the second imitative. Preserved in Venetian manuscripts, the five brief sonatas and three minuets here begin close to Scarlatti and end close to Bach. Bacchetti plays them beautifully, with poise and elegance. …