Mendelssohn – Felix, surely? – but no, here we are talking about Arnold, the second degree nephew of the former. His oeuvre includes operas, choral works, symphonies, concertos, songs, chamber music and piano works, although here the entire recording of the latter only takes up two hours.
In addition to the sequences of small character pieces, the sonatas are worth noting. They are characterised by a strikingly clear language, which is emphatically classical, not to say plain, and has nothing in common with romanticism.
In a certain way, with his precocious neoclassical style, Arnold Mendelssohn (1855–1933) was a composer ahead of his time. Elżbieta Sternlicht is fully aware of that and performs his piano music in a very clear and lively manner.
Remy Franck
Pizzicato, 2 August 2018