After listening to a ferociously gifted firebrand virtuoso, though one inclined towards hysteria (Khatia Buniatishvili – see page 85), Howard Shelley’s mix of ardour and urbanity come as a sane and stable relief. And in the second volume of his six CD cycle of Mendelssohn’s piano music, he shows himself ideally cast. His poise and vehemence give substance to even the composer’s more facile utterances.

Time and again Shelley makes it clear that Mendelssohn has a special place in his affections, and although it is invidious to locate the finer moments in his unfailing expertise, certain performances stand out for their exceptional grace and commitment. What suppleness and expressive beauty in the Andante prefacing the evergreen Rondo capriccioso, what virtuosity in the wildly skittering finale of the F sharp minor Fantasia. What quiet eloquence Shelley achieves in the sixth of the Songs Without Words (Book 2), where the gondolier sings his plaintive song above a gently rocking accompaniment.

Larry Todd’s notes chart the rises and falls of Mendelssohn’s reputation, from ‘Mendelssohn does not go deep’ to Shelley’s vital and refined re-evaluation. Hyperion’s sound is immaculate.