Scarlatti produced the vast body of instrumental music for which he’s best known, and in particular the keyboard sonatas. These works extended the genre immeasurably, introducing a virtuosity and brilliance that broke new ground.

Domenico was the son of Alessandro Scarlatti and, while his father served as maestro di cappella to the viceroy’s court in Naples, Domenico was organist and composer. A trip to Venice to seek employment there may have been his first contact with Handel – the two men became long-term friends. He moved to Rome with his father and worked as his assistant at S Maria Maggiore.

He worked in Rome for 12 years, serving a number of royal and aristocratic employers. He left Rome in 1719 and, after a period of some years in Palermo, he was employed by the Portuguese Court in Lisbon. Among his many tasks was the musical education of the royal children. When Princess Maria Barbara married the crown prince of Spain in 1733, Scarlatti followed her there and lived first in Seville and then in Madrid for the rest of his life. It was during this period that he produced the vast body of instrumental music for which he’s best known, and in particular the keyboard sonatas. These works extended the genre immeasurably, introducing a virtuosity and brilliance that broke new ground. He was also the author of seven operas (from his Roman period).