Mendelssohn: the Complete Solo Piano Music 5

Howard Shelley (piano)

Howard Shelley continues to overturn the conventional wisdom about Mendelssohn’s unjustly neglected piano music, again demonstrating convincingly its claims on our attention.

Mendelssohn:
 3 Etudes, Op. 104b
 3 Preludes, Op. 104a
 Gondellied (Barcarolle) in A
 6 Kinderstücke, Op. 72 'Christmas Pieces'
 Lied in D major

 Songs without Words, Book 6, Op. 67
  No. 1 in E flat major
  No. 2 in F sharp minor
  No. 3 in B flat major
  No. 4 in C major 'Spinning Song' or 'Bee's Wedding'
  No. 5 in B minor
  No. 6 in E major 'Lullaby'

 Variations sérieuses in D minor Op. 54
 Variations in E flat major, Op. 82
 Variations in B flat major, Op. 83

"Shelley has been on a winning streak with his Mendelssohn odyssey and the penultimate volume lives up to previous ones in every respect. There are a directness, selflessness and unaf"
Gramophone Magazine - June 2021

"As always, Shelley makes light of the music’s technical difficulties, and plays with innate musicianship throughout. It’s possible to feel that there’s a touch more poetry and drama to be found in the Variations sérieuses, but Shelley’s performance is perfectly fine in its own terms, and followers of this valuable series won’t be disappointed."
BBC Music Magazine - August 2021 *****