Violinist Joshua Bell’s New Album, “Mendelssohn Piano Trios”

Released on Sony Classical, the album features Bell alongside Steven Isserlis and Jeremy Denk

Sony Classical has released a new recording of the piano trios of Felix Mendelssohn, performed by violinist Joshua Bell with two of his favorite collaborating artists and friends — cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Jeremy Denk. 

This new recording follows an all-Brahms collection “For the Love of Brahms” released by Sony Classical in 2018, which also featured a collaboration of Bell, Isserlis, and Denk.

Mendelssohn’s two piano trios — No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49 (1839) and No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 66 (1845) — are viewed as among the composer’s best and most beloved works.

After the premiere of Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1, Schumann wrote that “Mendelssohn…has soared so high, that we may venture to say that he is the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the brightest among musicians, the one who looks most clearly of all through the contradictions of the time and reconciles us to them.”

To purchase and listen to the album, click here. The CD release will be available from October 25, 2024.

This album also includes a bonus track — the original version of the second movement of the first piano trio. The recording of this version is based on the Israeli pianist Ron Regev’s transcription of the original manuscript. 

“Of course, Mendelssohn had excellent reasons for his revisions including the addition of the deeply expressive middle section,” Isserlis explained. “But there are a few touches in the original version which have a delightful freshness to them — which is why we decided to include it as an extra track on this disc.”

“Steven Isserlis and Jeremy Denk have been my most cherished chamber music partners for decades,” Bell said in a press release. “They bring seemingly limitless imaginations and uncanny musical intelligence to every work I have had the privilege of exploring with them. It is my hope that our mutual joy for playing chamber music and, in particular, our shared deep love for the genius of Felix Mendelssohn comes through in this recording of these Piano Trios. I am forever grateful for having the opportunity to make this album.”