Christopher Williams – Mendelssohn: Piano Rarities (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Christopher Williams – Mendelssohn: Piano Rarities (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:15:19 minutes | 1,18 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos

This album of rarely heard piano music by Mendelssohn displays the composer’s wide emotional range and features two youthful sonatas, composed when he was just eleven years old. Pianist Christopher Williams has previously recorded acclaimed albums of music by Semyon Barmotin for Grand Piano (GP799, 865, 866) and makes his Naxos label debut with this album.

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.

Tracklist:
1. Christopher Williams – Piano Sonata in F Minor, MWV U 23: I. Allegro (05:20)
2. Christopher Williams – Piano Sonata in F Minor, MWV U 23: II. Adagio (05:31)
3. Christopher Williams – Piano Sonata in F Minor, MWV U 23: III. Presto (03:43)
4. Christopher Williams – Piano Sonata in E Minor, MWV U 19: I. Introduzione. Adagio – Allegro (08:10)
5. Christopher Williams – Piano Sonata in E Minor, MWV U 19: II. Andante (02:17)
6. Christopher Williams – Piano Sonata in E Minor, MWV U 19: III. Allegro (03:55)
7. Christopher Williams – Songs Without Words in E-Flat Major, MWV U 68 (01:54)
8. Christopher Williams – Songs Without Words, Book 7, Op. 85: No. 5 in A Major, MWV U 191 (01:39)
9. Christopher Williams – Songs Without Words in D Major, MWV U 178 (02:37)
10. Christopher Williams – Songs Without Words, Book 7, Op. 85: No. 1 in F Major, MWV U 150 (02:21)
11. Christopher Williams – Songs Without Words in F-Sharp Minor, MWV U 124 (02:10)
12. Christopher Williams – Allegretto in A Major, MWV U 138 (02:25)
13. Christopher Williams – Andante in A Major, MWV U 76 (01:03)
14. Christopher Williams – Songs Without Words, Book 1, Op. 19b: No. 2 in A Minor, MWV U 80 (02:13)
15. Christopher Williams – Songs Without Words in E-Flat Major, MWV U 82 (02:48)
16. Christopher Williams – Andante con moto in A Major, MWV U 75 (02:03)
17. Christopher Williams – Con moto in A Major, MWV U 88 (00:38)
18. Christopher Williams – Wie die Zeit läuft, MWV U 196 (01:52)
19. Christopher Williams – Übungsbuch bei Zelter, MWV Z 1: No. 119, Theme & Variations in D Major (03:52)
20. Christopher Williams – Piano Piece in G Major, MWV U 38 (02:17)
21. Christopher Williams – Andante in E-Flat Major, MWV U 165 (01:42)
22. Christopher Williams – Sostenuto in F Major, MWV U 167 (02:16)
23. Christopher Williams – Canon in F-Sharp Minor, MWV U 163 (01:22)
24. Christopher Williams – Capriccio in E-Flat Minor, MWV U 43 (10:07)
25. Christopher Williams – Allegro in F Major, MWV U 174 “Bärentanz” (00:54)

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