Composer: Felix Mendelssohn
Performer: Peter Donohoe
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHAN20252
Release: 2022
Size: 1.19 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Rondo capriccioso in E major, Op. 14
3 Fantasies (or Caprices) Op. 16
02. I. Nelken und Rosen in Menge (Carnations and Roses in Abundance), MWV U 70
03. II. Scherzo, MWV U 71
04. III. Am Bache (By the Brook), MWV U 72
Songs without Words, Book 1, Op. 19b
05. No. 1, MWV U 86
06. No. 2, MWV U 80
07. No. 3, MWB U 89
08. No. 4, MWV U 73
Songs without Words, Book 8, Op. 102
09. No. 1, MWV U 162
10. No. 2, MWV U 192
11. Song without Words, Op. 67 No. 5 in B minor
12. Song without Words, Op. 67 No. 2 in F sharp minor
13. Song without Words, Op. 62 No. 6 in A major ‘Spring Song’
14. Song without Words, Op. 30 No. 3 in E major
15. Song without Words, Op. 53 No. 5 in A minor ‘Volkslied’
16. Song without Words, Op. 62 No. 3 in E minor ‘Trauermarsch’
17. Song without Words, Op. 30 No. 4 in B minor
18. Song without Words, Op. 62 No. 4 in G major
19. Song without Words, Op. 62 No. 5 in A minor ‘Venetianisches Gondellied No. 3’
20. Song without Words, Op. 67 No. 4 in C major ‘Spinning Song’ or ‘Bee’s Wedding’
21. Song without Words, Op. 53 No. 4 in F major
22. Song without Words, Op. 102 No. 6, MWV U 172
23. Song without Words, Op. 62 No. 1 in G major ‘May Breezes’
24. Song without Words, Op. 67 No. 1 in E flat major
25. Song without Words, Op. 38 No. 2 in C minor
26. Song without Words, Op. 53 No. 2 in E flat major
27. Song without Words, Op. 67 No. 3 in B flat major
28. Song without Words, Op. 38 No. 6 in A flat major ‘Duetto’
Peter Donohoe CBE is acclaimed as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility, and commanding technique. On this first volume of Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words, he writes: “When I first became conscious of my desire to be a musician, Mendelssohn meant more to me, personally, than almost any other composer – he certainly ranked alongside Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. My choice of programme for the present recording is based around a large selection from the Lieder ohne Worte, which I preface with the Rondo capriccioso, Op. 14 and the three wonderful Fantaisies ou Caprices.
The Rondo capriccioso and Trois Fantaisies ou Caprices are exquisite examples of the extraordinary facility of Mendelssohn (implicitly as a pianist, but also as a composer), of his originality and inspiration, at an age that allows us, in my view, to place him in the same group of wonderfully natural and prodigious composers as Haydn and Mozart. It is always a pleasure to play these works, and they go to the heart of why I became a musician in the first place”.