Subtitled ‘Three centuries of Brazilian music’‚ this recital provides an ideal union of performance and academe. And‚ as Paul Myers tells us in his necessarily extensive notes‚ there is a vast quantity of largely unknown Brazilian piano music reflecting a rich and exotic cultural diversity‚ an incessant outpouring‚ ironically prompted‚ rather than impeded‚ by a lack of educational opportunities and facilities that other countries take for granted. Naturally‚ not everything is worth its weight in gold‚ but there are gems and surprises in abundance and a wholly Brazilian warmth and generosity. Arnaldo Cohen’s superb programme rings the changes with dazzling aplomb and stylistic assurance. There are reminders of Bach (Pinto)‚ Mozart (Garcia)‚ memories of Grieg’s Holberg Suite (Nepomuceno)‚ and did Luiz Levy know Rebikov’s Christmas Tree or Dutra Scriabin’s Second Mazurka‚ Op 3? Yet such considerations are exhilaratingly swept aside in more indelibly Latin offerings‚ in Guarnieri’s Torturado‚ an urgent‚ all­Brazilian toccata or Mignone’s catchy Valsa de esquina No 1. Gonzaga’s Tango Brasileiro‚ has a stunning street­wise resilience‚ as does Santoro’s Paulistana No 4‚ a curtain­raiser where Cohen juggles multi­rhythms in a joyously syncopated whirl. Fructuoso Vianna’s Serenata espanhola is beautifully redolent of Spain and of Albéniz in particular‚ while Villa­Lobos’s Valsa da dor is played with an insinuating grace and melancholy. There are several first recordings and Dutra’s F sharp minor Prelude was discovered by Cohen among the music of his former teacher Jacques Klein. A melting­pot‚ then‚ of moods and styles in performances as free­spirited as they are elegant and precise. The recordings and presentation are first­class and I can hardly wait for more Brasiliana from an intrepid explorer and immaculate pianist.