This programme illustrates four essential qualities of the music of Felix Mendelssohn. Music stripped of all superfluity, including the literary aspect (Songs without Words); a gift for creating magical atmospheres (Rondo capriccioso); unconditional admiration for classical order; and, finally, a genuine veneration for Bach (Prelude and Fugue op.35). The whole radiant universe of Mendelssohn is encapsulated here.

Gramophone Magazine awarded Javier Perianes an Editor's Choice for his disc of de Falla Piano Works [HMC902099] saying: “This is a disc to lift the spirits. Whether the music is sultry, strenuous or sunny, Javier Perianes plays with an infallible ear for style, atmosphere and colour…in the Nights in the Gardens of Spain the BBC Symphony Orchestra joins Perianes for a performance of panache and captivating flair and freshness.”