Gunnar de Frumerie (1908-87) was no more a one-work composer than was his contemporary and compatriot Dag Wirén, but his delightful Pastoral Suite of 1933 is far and away his best-known piece, just as the Serenade for strings is for Wirén. Frumerie’s suite is most familiar in its orchestral guise for flute, strings and harp, of which there have been several versions; this is the first I have encountered of the reduced version with piano accompaniment. It proves every bit as beguiling, especially in this beautifully phrased account. Flautist Tobias Carron has a nicely refined tone, highly apposite for Frumerie’s Francophile inspiration.

Mats Widlund, however, is the disc’s real star, performing with equal distinction in each of the four works. In the Four Etudes, Widlund proves fully equal to the composer’s mercurial inspiration. Only the first – ‘Puck’ – has a descriptive title, but the second and third (all from 1943-44) share its almost faery speed and grace. The fourth (added in 1953) is a lumpish, leaden-footed ogre by comparison, devoid of its companions’ subtlety; either that, or Frumerie was in a really bad mood when he wrote it! Widlund’s accompaniments in the Trio (1932, rev 1975) and First Quartet (1941) are perfectly attuned to the strings, never overpowering them. The Trio betrays the influences from Frumerie’s Parisian student visits, its rather Iberian opening redolent of de Falla (though perhaps Debussy and Ravel also). The lively finale suggests he had heard some Bartók. The Quartet is a more personal creation, a fine, large-scale work that ensembles everywhere would do well to learn.

As always, Phono Suecia’s production standards are first rate, the acoustic and recording of each work providing the best platform for the music. Recommended.