Mendelssohn

Capriccio in F sharp minor; 3 Fantaisies or Caprices;

2 Piano Pieces, Wo0 19; 6 Children’s Pieces; Rondo Capriccioso in E major; Andante con Variazioni; Phantasie in F sharp minor

Doomin Kim (piano)

Warner Classics 9029567976 59:55 mins Mendelssohn’s piano music may not plumb the emotional depths of that of his contemporaries Schumann and Chopin, but nonetheless it offers immense musical rewards. This skilfully devised recital programme demonstrates his amazing capacity for writing dynamic fleet-footed as exemplified in the early Capriccio, Op. 5, the second of the Three Fantasies, Op. 16 and most notably the Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14. In contrast, the Two Piano Pieces, WOO9 and the delightful Six Children’s Pieces provide a glimpse of a more intimate drawing-room style, most famously explored in Songs without Words. Finally, the Andante con variazioni, Op. 82 and the Phantasie in F sharp minor,

Op. 28 demonstrate Mendelssohn’s considerable pianistic imagination when operating on a more complex structural scale.

Sixteen-year-old Korean pianist Doomin Kim communicates tremendous enthusiasm for this music, delivering the whirlwind passage work with dazzling finger control and investing the more lyrical aspects of Mendelssohn’s writing with fluidity and warmth. My only caveat with his playing is his tendency to focus too much on the right hand at the expense of the left. Admittedly, such a strategy obviates the possibility of some passages sounding too heavy. But there are times where a more subtle voicing of inner parts and a greater emphasis on the Baroque-like polyphonic interplay in Mendelssohn would be more illuminating. I was also a bit surprised that the left-hand semiquaver passages in the Capriccio were obfuscated by what seemed to be too much reliance on the sustaining pedal. But despite these reservations, there is little doubt that this warmly recorded disc represents a pretty impressive debut album. Erik Levi PERFORMANCE ★★★

RECORDING ★★★★