High energy Mendelssohn and Shostakovich

Fine performances capture Mendelssohn and Shostakovich's music’s various soundworlds - and the engineering is top drawer

Composer: Mendelssohn, Shostakovich
Repertoire: Concerto for Piano, Violin and Orchestra (Mendelssohn) Piano Concerto No.1 Mathieu Concertino No.2 (Shostakovich)
Artists: Alain Lefèvre (pf), Paul Archibald (tp), David Lefèvre (vln), London Mozart Players/Bamert
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Chamber
Label: Analekta AN 2 9283

The fascination here lies in the fact that all three composers were prodigies and that all three works emit high energy on a chamber scale. The Mendelssohn is a boyhood opus of Mozartian elegance and brilliance, the Shostakovich a stylistic riot of knockabout mayhem, the Mathieu a neo-Classical mini-masterpiece that takes its lead from Mendelssohn’s hyper-active piano writing and Shostakovich’s creative vim.