Mendelssohn: Songs without Words
Javier Perianes (piano)
If Javier Perianes was setting out to show the full range of Mendelssohn's genius as a writer for the piano, he has certainly succeeded with this disc...Perianes's singing right hand moulds...
Mendelssohn: Songs without Words
Javier Perianes (piano)
Purchase product
If Javier Perianes was setting out to show the full range of Mendelssohn's genius as a writer for the piano, he has certainly succeeded with this disc...Perianes's singing right hand moulds...
About
This programme illustrates four essential qualities of the music of Felix Mendelssohn. Music stripped of all superfluity, including the literary aspect (Songs without Words); a gift for creating magical atmospheres (Rondo capriccioso); unconditional admiration for classical order; and, finally, a genuine veneration for Bach (Prelude and Fugue op.35). The whole radiant universe of Mendelssohn is encapsulated here.
Gramophone Magazine awarded Javier Perianes an Editor's Choice for his disc of de Falla Piano Works [HMC902099] saying: “This is a disc to lift the spirits. Whether the music is sultry, strenuous or sunny, Javier Perianes plays with an infallible ear for style, atmosphere and colour…in the Nights in the Gardens of Spain the BBC Symphony Orchestra joins Perianes for a performance of panache and captivating flair and freshness.”
Javier Perianes next recording, also with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, will include Grieg's Piano Concerto.
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
Christmas 2014
If Javier Perianes was setting out to show the full range of Mendelssohn's genius as a writer for the piano, he has certainly succeeded with this disc...Perianes's singing right hand moulds the melodies with great affection...[he] has not only impeccable technique but the sharpest of ears for textures and for nuances at the lower end of the dynamic range.
December 2014
There's nothing small-scale about his conception of this music and, where need be, climaxes are bold...He can charm without trying to, thanks to a haloed sound well caught by Harmonia Mundi's engineers...There's great clarity to Perianes's fugal textures and handled.
January 2015
a player of rare talent, whose particular strengths suit Mendelssohn very well … Perianes releases considerable power…his depth of tone combining with an all too human resonance to make a necessary statement, not just a dazzling one. What a thrilling sound he creates in the final pages, with a superbly resonant bass, although he always adds shading so it doesn’t feel like an onslaught.
5th November 2014
Perianes lavishes all the care and attention on them that such miniatures need, without ever overdoing it and destroying their beguiling directness; his range of colour is perfectly judged...It’s a lovely disc – a constant delight.
10th January 2015
[Perianes] is a pianist of impeccable and refined tastes, blessed with a warmth of touch...There is a lovely luminosity to Perianes’s tone throughout this repertoire, together with a poised romantic temperament that chimes in ideally with Mendelssohn’s turn of phrase.
Pianist Magazine December 2014
[Perianes] plays with fine tone and crystalline sparkle. In fact, the whole recital is stripped of superficiality and performed with a magical atmosphere.
classicalsource.com March 2015
here is romantic musical poetry, rivalling Chopin’s at times, which Perianes taps into with sensitivity, affection and unaffected artistry, bringing out the picturesque nature of each one … When something niftier and more-agitated is needed, Perianes is quick-witted and agile, never forced or pushy. This is wonderful music, beautifully played … Perianes here makes a wholly positive impression on behalf of himself as a devoted musician and reveals the fullest fraternity with Mendelssohn’s muse.
