For a sample of Bruce Adolphe's musical inspiration for this week's Piano Puzzler, we turn to a recording by Mikhail Pletnev. He plays the Keyboard Sonata K. (Kirkpatrick) 380 by Domenico Scarlatti.

Domenico Scarlatti's dense, explosive little sonatas for harpsichord are some of the most arresting works to come out of the Baroque period. There are more than 500, and most last for only a few ...