Recent scholarship has brought numerous compositions by the excessively self-critical Mendelssohn into print and has ensured more accurate compositional dates for them. Many of these rare and little-known examples are encountered on this album. The title Lieder ohne Worte (‘Songs without Words’) may have mystified some contemporaries but their refinement and beauty are obvious as is their wide emotional range. The two youthful sonatas are astonishingly mature, even in the allusions to Beethoven. Mendelssohn’s humour and quirkiness can also be heard in this vibrant selection of seldom encountered piano pieces.

Born in Wales, Christopher Williams leads a busy and varied professional life as a pianist, composer, conductor, teacher and arranger. He is currently a staff pianist at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, piano tutor at Cardiff University, and pianist for both the BBC National Chorus of Wales and BBC National Orchestra of Wales.