The Romanian pianist and composer Victor Nicoara was born and educated in Bucharest, later studied at the Royal College of Music in London and is now based in Berlin. His new Hänssler Classic release presents an interesting cross section of Busoni’s solo piano works from 1908 to 1921.

Nicoara communicates his fascination and pleasure in Busoni at every turn, from his personal ordering of the Sonatinas, with smaller pieces interspersed as leavening, to his sympathetic approach to each of these highly idiosyncratic works. The First Sonatina, at just under 11 minutes the longest and, one is tempted to say, most sprawling of the six, emerges with clarity and cohesion. The considerable technical demands, whether in the percussive abstraction of the Second Sonatina or the dreamy reminiscences of the Sixth, are met with alacrity. Most important is the wealth of imagination Nicoara brings to his realisations, suggesting that experiencing all six of the Sonatinas in concert could be both pleasurable and enlightening.

In addition to the Sonatinas, Christmas Night is a fully developed, richly atmospheric character piece, evoking both the sacred mystery and high spirits of the holiday. The fragmentary Sonatina quasi sonata from 1914, recorded here for the first time and lasting less than a minute, leaves one wishing that Busoni had pursued his ideas for even a few more bars. Nicoara is particularly effective in the three Album Leaves, K289. Each unfolds as a tiny mystery, not always entirely resolved at its conclusion. Nicoara’s own Quasi sonatina, written in 2019 and very much in the spirit of Busoni, rounds out the album.

I suspect both dyed-in-the-wool Busoni enthusiasts as well as newcomers to his music will find much to enjoy in Nicoara’s probative readings