Albéniz Mendelssohn Chopin Piano Works

This recital features three of the greatest creations of the Romantic piano repertoire. Four selections from Albéniz’s colorful and formidably virtuosic Iberia open the CD. Fanfare’s Lynn René Bayley remarks: “the Albéniz pieces, in particular, are extremely good, having a warm, almost exotic quality that I find quite hypnotic.”

Following this is Mendelssohn’s Variations Serieuses, an architectural masterpiece filled with much pianistic brilliance as well as counterpoint. Reviewing this recording, the American Record Guide’s Brent Auerbach “puts this account of op. 54 over all the others I’ve ever heard, including Brendel’s.”

The program concludes with Chopin’s beloved Sonata in B minor, one of the greatest of the Romantic works in sonata form. Byzantion in MusicWeb International remarks: “This is a fine version in its own right. The rousing, spectacularly virtuosic Finale is particularly superbly played by Bengtson, without the merest hint of trepidation.”

Please enjoy some samples below to get a taste of this album.