Mendelssohn: Piano Rarities

Williams, Christopher

8.574509

Recent scholarship has brought numerous compositions by the excessively self-critical Mendelssohn into print and has ensured more accurate compositional dates for them. Many of these rare and little-known examples are encountered on this album. The title Lieder ohne Worte (‘Songs without Words’) may have mystified some contemporaries but their refinement and beauty are obvious as is their wide emotional range. The two youthful sonatas are astonishingly mature, even in the allusions to Beethoven. Mendelssohn’s humour and quirkiness can also be heard in this vibrant selection of seldom encountered piano pieces.

Works:

•
• Piano Sonata in F Minor, MWV U23
• Piano Sonata in E Minor, MWV U19
• Song without Words in E-Flat Major, MWV U68
• Songs without Words, Book 7, Op. 85: No. 41 in A Major, Op. 85, No. 5, MWV U191 (1847 version)
• Songs without Words, Book 1, Op. 19b: No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 19b, No. 2, MWV U80 (1830 version)
• Song without Words in E-Flat Major, MWV U82 (completed by R.L. Todd)
• Andante con moto in A Major, MWV U75

CD

Muzyka klasyczna

Naxos

02-11-2023

747313450978