ARNOLD MENDELSSOHN (1855-1933): Complete Piano Works - Sonatas in C, Op. 119 and in E Minor, Op. 66, Sonatine in C Minor, Op. 121, Albumblatt, Federzeichnungen, Op. 20, Moderne Suite, Op. 79.

Description: Felix’s grand-nephew is best known for his sacred music (he was a leader in the early 20th-century reformation of Protestant church music in Germany) so it’s good to have evidence of his secular side too. The sonatas (1914 and 1900; rev. 1932) and even the sonatine (1889; rev. 1932) are weighty, dark and serious and Mendelssohn brings a burnished, Romantic dignity to the suite (1918) of not-so neo-baroque dances. The lighter side of the composer’s muse is heard in the character pieces of Op. 20’s “Pen-and-Ink Sketches” (1901). 2 CDs. Elżbieta Sternlicht (piano).