Mendelssohn: Sonata for Piano; Prelude & Fugue; Variations Sérieuses; Rondo Capriccioso

Mendelssohn: Sonata for Piano; Prelude & Fugue; Variations Sérieuses; Rondo Capriccioso | Felix Mendelssohn, Murray Perahia | Perahia does everything he possible could with these pieces

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Mendelssohn: Sonat...

	Mendelssohn: Sonata for Piano; Prelude & Fugue; Variations Sérieuses; Rondo Capriccioso Felix Mendelssohn, Murray Perahia Sony, 1990 average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

These are some of Mendelssohn's best piano pieces outside of the Songs Without Words. The early Sonata will be new to most listeners. But there's a good deal more Mendelssohn for piano, including two more early sonatas, and some of it would have filled out this disc very nicely. Murray Perahia plays with his usual artistry, although it seems to me that he's a bit "big" for some of this music, especially the Sonata, which I like to hear in a more modest scale. It's not a bad disc by any means, but more for Perahia's fans than for Mendelssohn's. --Leslie Gerber

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Best Mendelssohn piano CD released

For me, Mendelssohn is a composer who often dissappoints. The reason for this is simple: he wrote a vast output of work comprised of several beautiful pieces surrounded by a multitude of mediocre (and almost insipid) ones. In all honesty, much of his piano music in particular is dated, showing neither the passion of Chopin or Schumann nor the perfection of form realized by Mozart and Beethoven. In this CD, however, Murray Perahia has chosen perhaps the most distinguished piano works in his oeuvre, with maybe the exception of his long-derided songs without words.
The sonata in E, opus 6, is an absolutely lovely work (despite what biographer Radcliffe called a touch of vulgarity in the themes of the last movement). The sonata is an homage to Beethoven's opus 106 in A-major, and opens with a similar tender, flowing music, that, although less original here, is extremely personal. The form copies many of Beethoven's outlines (a scherzo 2nd movement, a recitative leading into a spirited finale), yet this piece is not purely derivative: in its beauties and turns of phrase it uniquely Mendelssohnian.
The Variations Serieuses in d-minor give credence to the claim that Mendelssohn is amongst the greatest variation writers of the 19th century. It is an exciting and inventive work that explores many aspects of variation techniques that lead to a serene choral preceding an impassioned finale. Unlike many later variation cycles, it never completely confuses the listener; like many Mozart works, it 'appeals to both connesieur and amatuer.' In regards to the performance, at first I thought that Perahia's opening tempo was too slow. As one listens, however, one sees he has opened in such a manner in order to have detailed creative control over each of the variations, thus making them all mor eindividual. The entire work benefits, in my opinion, as a result of this approach.
The remaining two works are each among the best of Mendelssohn's endeavors into their repective forms (Prelude and Fugue and Rondo). The Prelude is in the form of an appasionato song without words, and precedes the far earlier fugue in e-minor. The fugue opens with, in the words of musicologist Charles Rosen, 'the most superb pastiche of Bach in the 19th century.' As it proceeds, however, Mendelssohn covers many styles, including a homophonic episode reminiscent of the classical style which leads into a virtuosic (and Romantic) passage in left hand octaves. The Fugue concludes with a and E-major choral played above the aformenetioned left-hand figuration. The rondo is a fun addition at the end, not particularly profound, but extremely effective in its purpose. All of these piece are played excellently by distinguishe pianist Murray Perahia.

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Perahia does everything he possible could with these pieces

I really love this disc because Perahia takes up something lesser known and turns it into something rivetting. All the pieces on this disc are exciting, mainly because Perahia recreates them as such. The Preludium and Fugue are dramatic. The Sonata op. 6 is absolutely wonderfully played, where you wonder how such a piece can be overlooked in the repertoire. And the Variations are played with flair. The Rondo Capriccioso is played fluently.

Perahia makes you question why Mendelssohn's piano music is often overlooked.

THE Mendelssohn piano recording

In the sea of Mendelssohn recordings out there, which usually constitute the ubiquitous Midsummer Night's Dream, the Piano Concerti, the Violin Concerto and the famous pair of symphonies, it's so refreshing to see some attention actually given to Mendelssohn's first-rate solo piano compositions. Although his piano works are uneven and rather Classical in design, there are some astounding gems in his opus. Having heard every solo piano composition of Mendelssohn's through the five volume series of Naxos, I feel qualified to make the following bold statement: this Perahia recording captures the best of Mendelssohn's piano works and is played better than anyone else I've heard.

I do want to say, however, that Mendelssohn still has other piano pieces worth delving into. The Op. 105 and 106 Sonata, the Op. 33 Caprices, the entire Op. 35 Preludes and Fugues, and his Op. 104 Preludes and Etudes are remarkable pieces that belong in the spotlight. But for the novice to Mendelssohn and especially for those giving his piano works a first try, you simply cannot find a better CD than this one. And I must say Perahia is exactly the kind of daredevil virtuoso that these particular pieces of Mendelssohn's need in order to shine. Perahia invokes both stormy passion and intelligent phrasing when attacking these outstanding marvels of the repertoire.

You won't find a better interpreter for the Op. 6, a Sonata with Beethovenian furor and passion. Perahia infuses this work with his Romantic expressiveness and technical power, which creates a most satisfying and dramatic result. Frith's and Jones's performance found on other labels is no where close to reaching Perahia's plane. In the first movement, Perahia transmogrifies with careful dynamics what might have been a series of soft mechanical arpeggios into ghostly vapors. In the Recitativo, Perahia gives a passionate and thoughtful rendition; he is not afraid to be tempestuous and still remain faithful to Mendelssohn's suave melodic ideas. In the Rondo Op. 14, you can expect an immaculate performance of this delightful work. It's a war-horse in the repertory and I've heard a good-many pianists play it: I honestly believe Perahia surpasses them all in both technique and overall delivery.

The Op. 35 Prelude and Fugue is another example of Perahia's monumental technique combined with a pure understanding of Mendelssohn's mood, a thing which often eludes many pianists. The Prelude is a surging work of gorgeous harmonies; the Fugue is at first dignified, but soon becomes a robust tour-de-force. And all of these musical aspects are illuminated because of Perahia's breathtaking powers as a pianist and above all a musician. While Perahia takes the Variations Op. 54 at a slower pace than what some may be used to, he does this to really emphasize the crescendi and tempi increases found in the later variations. Perahia gives each variation a distinct dynamic and articulation; but all the while he is biding his time for the grandiose last few minutes of the work, which surely contains Mendelssohn's most exhilarating passages of piano music.

Bottom line: This recording is the essential introduction, if not the only exposure, you'll ever need to Mendelssohn's piano music. "Best of soandso" CD's tend to be subjective, but this particular CD is truly the greatest compilation of piano works from Mendelssohn. It's one thing if a mediocre and unknown pianist recorded these, but it's truly a gift to the piano discography to have the stellar Murray Perahia record these. He showcases the colossal momentum, brilliant passages, and elegant beauty of Mendelssohn's best piano music. Highly recommended.

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Appropriate elegance

The main course on this menu of Mendelssohn from Murray Perahia, dating from the mid-eighties, is the Op. 6 Sonata, one of three the composer wrote for solo piano while still in his teens (the other two were not published until after his death). It is a fascinating work with its thematic cross-references, freely rhythmed slow movement (which makes a fugue out of a recitative!) and homages to Beethoven, though it inevitably does not reach the level of its model, the older composer's piano sonata Op. 101 in A major. Perahia has the requisite fleet fingers and tonal control to make the frequently demanding piano writing sufficiently transparent. Even now there are few recordings of this piece, so this disc is well worth hearing despite its short total length. Perahia's pianism on the shorter, more familar pieces that round out the CD is equally adept and elegant, though I've heard versions of the Rondo Capriccioso that surpass his in terms of sheer sparkle. After two decades the sound is a bit congested at the heaviest climaxes, especially in the final movement of the Sonata.

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perahia does in once again

perahia is one of my favorite pianist. it is a shame he did not records all 3 sonatas. they are avilable on Harmonia mundi (Chiu) and on Koch international (Dana Protopopescu -all 3 sonatas on Koch international for less than $. Out of print but maybe can find used). All in all these are lovely examples of early mendelssohn. If you are a fan of perahia this is a good cd to own.

reviews: page 1, 2

Tracks
Sonata For Piano, Op. 6: I - Allegretto con espressione | Sonata For Piano, Op. 6: II - Tempo di Menuetto - Piu vivace - L'istesso tempo I | Sonata For Piano, Op. 6: III - Recitativo - Andante - Allegretto con espressione - IV - Molto allegro e vivace - Allegretto con espressione | Prelude & Fugue, Op. 35, No.1 | Variations serieuses, Op. 54 | Rondo capriccioso, Op. 14

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