Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos

The young Felix Mendelssohn was one of the finest pianists of the early 19th century as well as a great composing prodigy. Both talents combine for intensely beautiful piano masterpieces that test players to their technical and musical limits. Mendelssohn, however, wears his genius lightly. The *Piano Concerto No. 1* is a joyful work cascading with notes—Ronald Brautigam responds to it with lightly worn virtuosity, his piano, a subtly toned modern copy of an 1830 Pleyel, lending the music a beautiful, chamber-like intimacy. The more substantial *Piano Concerto No. 2* sits next to a couple of rarer miniatures for a delightful, rewarding album.