Hailing from the Polish city of Łódz´ and a product of Warsaw Conservatory, Alexandre Tansman (1897-1986) moved to Paris in the spring of 1920 and soon became a protégé of Ravel. The 15-minute Concertino for piano and orchestra that the Pole composed in 1931 for the Spanish virtuoso José Iturbi (later to find fame on the big screen in Hollywood) shares something of his mentor’s urbanity and wit. Both outer movements rattle along but truly distinctive thematic invention is perhaps in rather shorter supply. The central Andante cantabile, however, proves a gem: subtitled ‘Intermezzo Chopiniano’, this seductively bluesy and gorgeously intimate miniature pays homage to Gershwin while evoking the spirit of Tansman’s legendary countryman.

More colourful still is the Pièce concertante, commissioned by the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein in 1943 but mysteriously left in short score by its creator. Piotr Moss’s completion dates from 2008 and receives its world premiere here. Were the solo part’s flamboyant technical demands too much for the dedicatee? We shall never know. With its myriad stylistic influences – Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Ravel, Gershwin, Roussel, Honegger and Milhaud are all in there somewhere – the piece would make ideal quiz material. The two remaining items, Stèle (1972) and Elégie (1975), were conceived in memory of Tansman’s close friends Stravinsky and Milhaud respectively; both are sincerely felt and contain much to tickle the ear harmonically as well as texturally (there are also a handful of discreet quotations to listen out for).

Performances are as deft and committed as one could desire; exemplary production values and copious presentation, too. Intriguing stuff, if hardly essential listening.