Paul Watkins, Huw Watkins - Mendelssohn: Works for Cello and Piano (2011)

These works for cello and piano by Mendelssohn, like so much of his small-ensemble music, were better known a century ago than they are now. And, as usual, they show themselves worthy of revival when played competently. And they're more than competent here, with brothers Paul and Huw Watkins (shown in an amusing childhood photo in the booklet) delivering performances that are both idiomatic and clean. The Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58, is especially enjoyable: it's very much a chamber-size counterpart to the Symphony No. 3 in A minor ("Scottish"), Op. 56, and Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 ("Italian"), with the same kind of rhythmic, sweeping melodies. Cellist Paul Watkins gets into the crowd-pleasing spirit of these and also does well in the other works: the discursive, rather Schubertian Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 45, the youthful Variations concertantes, Op. 17, with their structural ambitions, and the limpidly lyrical Lied ohne Worte, Op. 109 (Song without Words). Forget about the weightier cello sonatas of Beethoven and Brahms; these works succeed on their own terms. Highly recommended.