Born in Naples in 1707 and perhaps a pupil there of Porpora, Pietro Domenico Paradisi, widely known in London, where he established himself in 1746, as Paradies, won distinction as a harpsichordist. Of particular fame, over succeeding generations, was his Toccata, now familiar in a whole series of diverse arrangements. It was originally the second movement, marked Allegro, from Paradisi’s Sonata No. 6 in A major, from a set of twelve sonatas published in London in 1754, and for many years remained a continuing element in amateur keyboard repertoire. In later life Paradisi returned to Naples, where he died in 1791.