Mendelssohn: Songs without words, Vol. 2 Peter Donohoe

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847): 17 Variations sérieuses in D Minor, Op. 54, MWV U 156:
• 1 Mendelssohn: 17 Variations sérieuses in D Minor, Op. 54, MWV U 156 11:26
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 38:
• 2 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 38: No. 3 in E Major, MWV U 107 02:31
• 3 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 38: No. 4 in A Major, MWV U 120 01:53
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 19b:
• 4 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 19b: No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor / Major, MWV U 90 03:29
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 30:
• 5 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 30: No. 5 in D Major, MWV U 97 01:56
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 53:
• 6 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 53: No. 6 in A Major, MWV U 154 02:51
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 30:
• 7 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 30: No. 6 in F-Sharp Minor, MWV U 110 "Venetian Gondola Song" 02:56
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 102:
• 8 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 102: No. 5 in A Major, MWV U 194 "Piece for Children" 01:17
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85:
• 9 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85: No. 4 in D Major, MWV U 190 02:37
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 102:
• 10 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 102: No. 4 in G Minor, MWV U 152 02:00
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85:
• 11 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85: No. 6 in B-Flat Major, MWV U 155 01:54
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 53:
• 12 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 53: No. 1 in A-Flat Major, MWV U 143 03:18
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 30:
• 13 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 30: No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, MWV U 77 02:15
• 14 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 30: No. 1 in E-Flat Major, MWV U 103 04:10
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 53:
• 15 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 53: No. 3 in G Minor, MWV U 144 "Gondola Song" 02:55
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85:
• 16 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85: No. 3 in E-Flat Major, MWV U 111 02:23
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 19b:
• 17 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 19b: No. 6 in G Minor, MWV U 78 "Venetian Gondola Song" 02:17
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 38:
• 18 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 38: No. 1 in E-Flat Major, MWV U 121 02:35
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 62:
• 19 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 62: No. 2 in B-Flat Major, MWV U 181 01:53
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85:
• 20 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85: No.1 in F Major, MWV U 150 02:36
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 102:
• 21 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 102: No. 3 in C Major, MWV U 195 "Piece for Children" 01:23
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85:
• 22 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85: No. 2 in A Minor, MWV U 101 01:06
• 23 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85: No. 5 in A Major, MWV U 191 02:19
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 38:
• 24 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 38: No. 5 in A Minor, MWV U 137 02:32
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 67:
• 25 Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte, Op. 67: No. 6 in E Major, MWV U 188 02:16
• Phantasie in B-Flat Major, Op. 15, MWV U 74 on an Irish Song "The Last Rose of Summer":
• 26 Mendelssohn: Phantasie in B-Flat Major, Op. 15, MWV U 74 on an Irish Song "The Last Rose of Summer" 07:51
• Scherzo from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in B Flat Major, Op. 61, MWV M 13:
• 27 Mendelssohn: Scherzo from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in B Flat Major, Op. 61, MWV M 13 04:39
• Total Runtime 01:21:18

Info for Mendelssohn: Songs without words, Vol. 2

Lieder ohne Worte – Songs without Words – seems to be a description invented by Mendelssohn himself for these short, lyrical and descriptive piano pieces which he composed so prolifically. Indeed, it is arguable that these works define his pianistic output in the same way that the Mazurka defines Chopin’s. Publishing them in sets of six, Mendelssohn composed Lieder ohne Worte throughout his career – they proved a type of composition to which he had a lifetime attraction.

For the first volume, rather than approaching them chronologically or as complete sets, Peter Donohoe selected pieces to build a satisfying programme. Here he does the same with all the pieces that remain. In addition, the album features three free-standing significant works. The 17 Variations sérieuses, from 1841, is one of Mendelssohn’s largest solo piano works, and was published in an album to raise funds for a monument to Beethoven. The Phantasie on ‘The Last Rose of Summer’ is a much earlier work, based on the Irish folk melody that – with added words by the Irish poet Thomas Moore – took Europe by storm in the early 1800s. The album concludes with Rachmaninoff’s piano transcription of the Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Peter Donohoe, piano

No biography found.

Booklet for Mendelssohn: Songs without words, Vol. 2