Domenico Scarlatti – Life Milestones

Portrait of Domenico Scarlatti, whose keyboard sonatas reshaped the technical and expressive language of the 18th century.

Domenico Scarlatti was born on October 26, 1685, in Naples, into a family already deeply rooted in music. Although he began his career within the Italian court tradition shaped by his father, Alessandro Scarlatti, his mature voice emerged elsewhere. It was in the Iberian world — in Portugal and Spain — that his imagination found new rhythmic vitality and keyboard brilliance. The hundreds of sonatas he left behind would quietly redefine the expressive and technical possibilities of the harpsichord.

1685

Born in Naples, the same year as George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach.

1700

Appointed organist and composer to the royal chapel in Naples, marking the beginning of his official court career.

1705

Travels to Venice, where he meets Handel; their reputed keyboard rivalry becomes part of musical lore.

1711

Enters the service of the exiled Queen Maria Casimira of Poland in Rome.

1713

Appointed maestro di cappella at the Cappella Giulia in the Vatican, a position of considerable prestige.

1719

Leaves Rome for Portugal, where he becomes music master to the princess Maria Barbara.

1725

Returns briefly to Naples to visit his father, Alessandro Scarlatti, who dies on October 24.

1728

Marries Maria Caterina Gentili and settles in Seville. Contact with Spanish musical idioms begins to shape his keyboard language in distinctive ways.

1733

Moves to Madrid, following Maria Barbara after her accession to the Spanish throne.

1738

Receives the title of Knight from the King of Portugal, formal recognition of his service.

1739

His first wife dies.

1742

Marries Anastasia Ximénez.

1757

Dies on July 23 in Madrid, leaving more than five hundred keyboard sonatas that would secure his lasting legacy.

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• In 1947, the Scarlatti biographer Ralph Kirkpatrick, researching in Madrid, discovered a single “Scarlatti” listed in the city’s telephone directory. A phone call revealed a descendant of the composer who possessed documents and materials that had remained unknown for nearly two centuries — a reminder that Scarlatti’s history, much like his music, continued to unfold long after his death.

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