He was the sixth of ten children and a younger brother to Pietro Filippo Scarlatti, also a musician. Most probably he first studied under his father, the composer and teacher Alessandro Scarlatti; other composers who may have been his early teachers include Gaetano Greco, Francesco Gasparini, and Bernardo Pasquini, all of whom seem to have influenced his musical style.

A Baroque composer most famous for his harpsichord sonatas. The majority of these were composed in Spain where Scarlatti had employment with a royal Spanish woman (a princess who later became queen I believe). His sonatas don’t seem to have the purity of development that one finds in Bach, but they do conjure up images of beautiful, elegant dance in a way that Bach does not. I find it very easy to imagine the rhythms and gracefulness of the music in some Baroque court.

Bach, Handel and Scarlatti were all born in the same year, but though Bach and Handel knew of each other, it was only Handel and Scarlatti that managed to meet. On the occasion, it is said that they held an informal competition, and while Handel was held to be the better organist, Scarlatti was judged the better harpsichordist.

On Wikipedia : Domenico Scarlatti

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