i've tried many Songs Without Words and nobody came close to Barenboim. He did wonders with the Nocturnes of Chopin and Mendelssohn.

 

Me too, the only one that came even close to Barenboim would be Ilse von Alpenheim on Philips.

 

I feel more familiar with Ilse von Alpenheim, so I prefer her.

 

Personally I like Mendelssohn on fortepiano, so my go-to is Ronald Brautigam;

Mendelssohn – Lieder ohne Worte (I): Books 1-4

Mendelssohn – Lieder ohne Worte (I). BIS: BIS1982. Buy SACD or download online. Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano)

www.prestomusic.com

 

Mendelssohn's SWW might be Barenboim's most celebrated solo piano recording. But few play other Mendelssohn pieces. One exception is Benjamin Frith who recorded all or most on Naxos, worth checking out. Very good mixed anthologies (i.e. not only/mainly SWW but usually incl. Variations serieuses) are by Knauer and Kirschnereit.

 

The two who come to mind (in preference to Barenboim) are Roberto Prosseda, who is a Mendelssohn specialist and recorded all the piano works of this composer, and Irina Mejoueva. The latter is not readily available since she lives in Japan and records on Japanese labels, but I have some wonderful downloads of her albums from Presto.

 

The two who come to mind (in preference to Barenboim) are Roberto Prosseda, who is a Mendelssohn specialist and recorded all the piano works of this composer, and Irina Mejoueva. The latter is not readily available since she lives in Japan and records on Japanese labels, but I have some wonderful downloads of her albums from Presto.

Link to complete label authorized recording -

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nJsNhDNwu_by18gkPiiPKnxYiDghDF1as

The descriptive contents of the above recording are presented in Japanese which really comes in handy if you are fluent in Japanese but if you're not then you'll have to either track down someone who is or just use this translator page and copy and paste --

Google Translate

Google's service, offered free of charge, instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages.

translate.google.com

For example, the first selection is -

ロンド・カプリッチオーソ Op.14

Just copy and paste the above and you'll discover that you're listening to -

Rondo Capriccioso Op.14

Link to complete label authorized recording -

The descriptive contents are in English.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kIJlKewgHes5Go3u6Iihj8emXTWdKFBIY

 

Personally, I would go with the six volume "Mendelssohn - The Complete Solo Music" with Howard Shelley on Hyperion.

 

The best Mendelssohn piano recording I know, especially the Piano Sonata Op. 6 -- very Beethovenian

Rena Kyriakou is also a fantastic Mendelssohn pianist who recorded all his solo piano music and whose recording of the youthful Concerto in A minor runs circles around anything in existence today.