Mendelssohn's piano music has been largely overshadowed by the other greats of the 19th century, so it's good to see Howard Shelley embarking on a six-volume reappraisal of these works, so often seen as lacking the depth of Chopin and the fire of Liszt. Fans of fireworks won't be disappointed though, in either the opening Capriccio in F sharp minor or the astonishingly assured bravura finale of the Sonata in E major, both the work of the teenage Mendelssohn. Shelley gives us a further glimpse of the restlessly romantic mind of this wunderkind in the cycle of seven Charakterstücke (character pieces) before wrapping us in the warm, gemütlich embrace of Book 1 of the Songs Without Words. With playing of this quality this is going to be a series to treasure.