Cortot said that no one had written like Chabrier for the piano; and it is significant that his first work of any consequence was entitled Impromptu, for his ebullient and highly original piano writing was a development from the keyboard improvisations at which he excelled.There is an unforgettable eye-witness account of him exuberantly playing his Espana at an elegant salon ''in a firework display of broken strings and pulverised keys that was unspeakably funny yet attained epic grandeur''.
Fortunately, Richard McMahon does not emulate Chabrier quite to this extent; but he fully catches the high-spirited abandon of the Bourree fantasque (perhaps better known in Mottl's orchestration) and the ''Danse villageoise'' and the scintillating gaiety of the ''Scherzo-valse'', as well as the fragile delicacy of the ''Idylle'' and the romantic lyricism of ''Sous bois''. (Four of these Pieces pittoresques were taken by the composer to form his orchestral Suite pastorale, but the piano originals, besides already containing quasi-orchestral effects, have a freshness of their own.) Besides the virtuosity often demanded by these works, McMahon's performances are marked by his alert musicality and his response to their extraordinarily diverse moods; and in view of the admirably realistic recording I am glad to see Bob Auger's name given prominence as producer/engineer. A warmly recommendable disc.'