For his debut recital disc, the young French pianist Jonas Vitaud offers Brahms’s Op 79 Rhapsodies and the Op 117, 118 and 199 Klavierstücke complete, with the final Op 116 Intermezzo in E major as an encore of sorts. Vitaud’s intelligent musicianship, rock-solid technique and cultivated sonority impress, along with a few unusual yet convincing tempo options, such his brisk alla breve conception of the C sharp minor Intermezzo, Op 117 No 3 (more of an allegretto than the actual Andante con moto Brahms suggests). He conveys the Op 79 pieces’ full-bodied keyboard-writing and dark mood-swings beautifully, although I’d prefer a little more animation and linear transparency in Op 117’s first two Intermezzos than Vitaud concedes (try Håkon Austbø’s suppler versions on Brilliant Classics in this regard).

Op 118 hits and misses. The A major Intermezzo, for example, is sombre and withdrawn compared to Lars Vogt’s similarly slow yet more texturally differentiated traversal. Ditto when measuring Vitaud’s slightly square-footed Op 118 F minor and Op 119 E minor alongside Perahia’s nimbler phrasing. Conversely, Perahia’s heavier hands yield to Vitaud’s warmer, witty characterisation of the C major Intermezzo, Op 119 No 3 (the one long associated with Myra Hess). In all, Vitaud’s finest moments are worth hearing and I look forward to following his career.