Domenico Cimarosa was the most famous and popular Italian opera composer of the second half of the 18th Century. In the course of a brilliantly successful career he composed more than 65 operas as well as a significant number of other works. Although nothing is known about the origins of the keyboard sonatas, they are attractive, small-scale works probably intended for study purposes or for domestic performance. The crystalline brilliance of many of the fast outer movements is very appealing and the slow movements, although somewhat conservative in style, often possess a surprising expressive depth.