A mysterious prisoner wearing an iron mask languishes deep within the Bastille. D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers find themselves tangled in a web of intrigue when suspicions about the prisoner’s identity begin to emerge. The final Musketeer story, “The Man in the Iron Mask” is a gripping adventure novel by one of the masters of the genre.

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"I love the extravagance, the sunny glow, the light touch of Scarlatti," says French pianist Alexandre Tharaud, whose second Virgin Classics release is a collection of the composer's captivating and adventurous keyboard sonatas. His first release, the Chopin recital Journal intime, was described by The Guardian as "altogether breathtakingly beautiful".

In typically imaginative fashion, Tharaud combined early Romanticism with the Baroque style while touring over the 2009-10 season. His recital program featured works by Chopin -- the subject of his Virgin Classics release, Journal intime -- as well as selections from Domenico Scarlatti's canon of 555 keyboard sonatas.

Scarlatti, born in Naples, spent more than 30 years of his life serving the royal families of Portugal and Spain and died in Madrid. His sonatas are concise, captivating one-movement works in binary form, often adventurous in their use of harmony and modulation, and frequently inhabited by the exotic spirit of Iberian folk music.

"Whether on a broad canvas or on a miniature one, Tharaud's feel for tonal coloring and his eloquence of expression are a perfect match for this inspiring, kaleidoscopic music." This praise from the Daily Telegraph could almost apply to works by Scarlatti, but in fact came from a review of Tharaud's Chopin album, Journal intime. More specific in its frame of reference was The Guardian's comment on the Chopin disc: "Alexandre Tharaud explores a huge emotional range in his Journal intime, including the most thrilling and propulsive first ballade since Michelangeli's version, with a deeply intense C sharp minor nocturne at the heart. Tharaud lifts the music across the barlines with deft rubato, his sound clear, shining and sensuous;altogether breathtakingly beautiful."