Songs Without Words

The American (though long UK-based) pianist Murray Perahia’s extraordinary talent has drawn accolades, earned him prizes, and inspired many in a new generation of pianists. Perahia’s catalog is full of superb recordings, including award-winning cycles of the piano concertos of Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin. He has also long championed Mendelssohn’s piano music. In the composer’s exquisite series of miniatures, his *Songs Without Words*, Perahia’s poetic approach and exquisitely spun lines reap enormous rewards. Here, he supplements them with some heavenly Bach and a handful of Schubert songs in piano-only transcriptions by Liszt.