Album Notes

When I began transcribing these sonatas some three years ago I was fascinated at how well they sound on the guitar, in spite of its appearing to be so very limited with regard to the number of possible fingerings. Moreover, coming to grips with the oftentimes enormous technical challenges resulted in a marked increase of my capabilities of expression on that instrument. The incredible intensity and depth of expression of Scarlatti’s music never fails to affect me. Supposedly, the sonatas were only performed in very intimate settings at the Spanish court, in the music rooms and apartments of the princess and later queen. I am convinced that the transcription for guitar is particularly apt when it comes to capturing this very intimacy.

Benjamin Scheck was born in Geneva in 1969. He initially studied the guitar at the Zurich Academy of Music (Konservatorium Zürich) and the Berne Academy of Music and Theater (Konservatorium für Musik und Theater Bern), from which he graduated in 1993 with a „Konzertdiplom“ (Professor Stephan Schmidt). Between 1993 and 1995 he won various study awards, notably a scholarship of the Migros-Genossenschaftsbund. The following year he spent at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Musique in Paris (Pofessor Alberto Ponce). Afterwards he enroled at the Lucerne Academy of Music (Konservatorium Luzern), from which he received his „Solistendiplom“ (Professor Frank Bungarten) in 1999. Master courses he attended were taught by David Russell, Oskar Ghiglia and Pablo Marquez, among others. He gives concerts as a soloist as well as in various chamber music formations, and is particularly interested in folk music, such as the Brazilian Chorinho music and the music of the Balkans. This wide musical spectrum is also reflected in his work as a guitar teacher. Since 1992 Benjamin Scheck has been a musical instructor at Kantonsschule Baden (Baden State College). He is living in Uster near Zurich with his family.