The harpsichordist and organist Scott Ross, born in America, but French by adoption, is famed for his recording of Scarlatti’s 555 keyboard sonatas, completed in 1985. Another ambitious recording mission – the complete harpsichord works of Johann Sebastian Bach – was interrupted four years later when he died aged just 38. “The harpsichord has a heart, a soul,” said Ross. “It’s an instrument that breathes and that is extraordinarily alive.” This 11-CD set complements his Erato Bach discography with material from broadcasts for French, Swiss and Canadian radio, much of it new to CD, which embraces performances on both the harpsichord and the organ.

This box brings together the harpsichord recordings he made for EMI and Erato, which are complemented by a selection of radio recordings: harpsichord and organ from Radio Canada, and harpsichord music from RTS (Swizerland) and INA (France). The last include a duet with his former teacher Huguette Grémy-Chauliac and chamber music with Christophe Coin and his Ensemble Mosaïque.

The recordings in the edition have been digitally remastered tapes by Art & Son Studio, Annecy (also responsible for the remasterings of Warner Classics’ Menuhin, Rostropovich and Cluytens editions).

2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the death of the harpsichordist and organist Scott Ross

Biographical overview
- Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA in 1951.
- Moved to France in 1964, entering the Nice Conservatoire where he studied organ with René Saorgin and harpsichord with Huguette Grémy-Chauliac. He also studied organ with Michel Chapuis and harpsichord at the Antwerp Conservatory with Kenneth Gilbert.
- 1971: Winner of the Bruges International Competition.
- 1973-86: Professor at the École de Musique de Laval in Québec
- 1975: Aged just 24, Ross made an impact with his complete recording of Rameau’s keyboard works, winning the Grand prix du Disque Français, and with his personal style: leather jacket, rings on every finger and biker boots.
- He became the first person to record all 555 Scarlatti keyboard sonatas (released by Erato 1985)
- 13 June 1989: Ross’s death from an HIV-associated infection.

“He played that piece (from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier) as though he had composed it himself!” – Kenneth Gilbert, 1971