Slowly but surely, the great Bulgarian composer Pancho Vladigerov’s sizeable output of piano works is finally getting serious attention on CD. His piano-writing is hard to characterise without saying that this piece sounds like Korngold here, Rachmaninov there, or a summit meeting between Delius, Bax, Cyril Scott, Moszkowski and Charles Tomlinson Griffes. Vladigerov loves lush keyboard textures, slithering chromatic counterlines, ringing repeated chords and big, unabashedly Romantic tunes that are attractive without being cloying. Such devices frequently figure throughout the six Op 17 Exotic Preludes and the 10 Op 9 Impressions, and as such each piece’s distinctions might be better absorbed when listening to one or two at a time. After all, how many elaborate and sophisticated gourmet desserts can you eat in one sitting?

Nadejda Vlaeva’s mind, fingers and soul totally embrace Vladigerov’s idiom. Her ear for tone colour and her innate sense of controlled Romanticism are exactly what this repertoire needs. Take for example Op 9’s third selection, the ‘Waltz-capriccio’, where Vlaeva’s suppleness and lilt never allow the thicker, busier sequences to bog down for a second. Her subtle pedalling in Op 17’s Elegy creates alluring timbral distinctions between melody and accompaniment. Her sensitive articulation in the same work’s Prelude imparts welcome shape and character to the frequent tremolos and quasi-exotic decorative flourishes. And what a pellucid, limpid touch she brings to Op 9’s gorgeous ‘Confession’, as if the piano’s hammers had been replaced by peacock feathers! If you think that’s just down to Hyperion’s production values, I can attest that Vlaeva sounds every bit as beguiling in concert.

Francis Pott’s superb booklet notes provide valuable biographical, historical and musical context for the music in hand. If you’re searching for a gift for the Romantic piano-music maven who has everything, look no further than this delectable album.