Hänssler Classic’s mini-series “Brahms and his Contemporaries” has been an interesting survey of those who orbited their admired composer – Zemlinsky, Fuchs, Herzogenberg and now, with the third and concluding disc, Martucci and Kirchner. Brahms himself is represented here by six song transcriptions, well re-fashioned and performed, but not of interest to many apart from cellists.

Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909) challenges Brahms on his own ground with a full-blown sonata. He was a striking figure, one of the few late-19th-century Italians to turn their backs on opera. Taking Brahms as his exemplar, he sets off with a nice, soaring phrase and some harmonic touches worthy of the master, though not surprisingly he does not have a comparable structural command, which all the players’ admirable efforts cannot quite conceal. There is a puckish Scherzo and a touching Intermezzo before a finale that, as before, sets off in Brahmsian vein with a bold, sweeping melody but slightly loses its way. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable piece, clearly influenced by Brahms but still genuinely inspired.

Theodor Kirchner (1823-1903) was 10 years older than Brahms but one of his strongest supporters, and was in turn financially supported by Brahms’s friends when in need. These eight nicely played pieces are, in a sense, brief homages to Brahms without being imitative. They include a warmly melodic Andante cantabile, a Scherzo with an impish sense of humour, a rich, impassioned Andantino, a nicely turned Moderato cantabile and a piece (Ruhig, ausdrucksvoll) touching on Brahms’s melancholic vein. The Allegro vivace suggests that Kirchner also admired Mendelssohn – but then, so did Brahms.