Mendelssohn: Piano Sonata, Op. 6 / Variations serieuses / Prelude and Fugue Op. 35, No. 1 / Rondo capriccioso
These are some of Mendelssohn's best piano pieces outside of theSongs  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