Jean-Louis Agobet (b1968) embodies his French musical heritage (Berlioz, Debussy, Boulez) in an open and questioning manner. This disc offers a welcome chance to hear pieces from the past six years, with a concertante element often present. Interestingly, the one exception, Phonal, is also the least satisfying in that the orchestral writing – fastidiously scored and ingenious in its evolving from, yet constantly harking back to, the note D – sounds the intricate backdrop to a foreground activity that never quite comes into focus.

It is in the engaging, even playful, combining of soloist and orchestra that the remaining works impress. Génération pits a trio of clarinets against the orchestra over three movements, each poised between scherzo and intermezzo, and anticipating a more substantial music that remains tantalisingly out of earshot. Ritratto concertante is a ‘portrait’ of piano and pianist that develops its main motifs into a fantasia lucid in its follow-through: a work, in fact, that self-effacingly sidesteps the ‘concerto’ issue. Most impressive is Feuermann – after the cello once played by that musician and now by Steven Isserlis, who premiered this taut, eventful piece. It is likely the first movement of a concerto which, if it can maintain a similar expressive intensity, will be a fine addition to the repertoire.

The performances are perceptively directed by François-Xaver Roth and enhanced by translucent sound and detailed booklet-notes. Anyone doubting modern French music’s subversive intent is in for a pleasant surprise.