More than fellow composers, those who write for the guitar run the risk of being defined by their instrument. Even many of those who would never peg Paganini as being ‘merely’ a composer for violin have no problem qualifying someone like Fernando Sor.

This is particularly problematic with guitarists such as David Starobin, whose playing goes well beyond technical matters, focusing as much attention to larger musical issues as any pianist or violinist. Much of his playing – as here – has used an early-20th-century guitar modelled on an early-19th-century Viennese design, which shows a devotion to authenticity worthy of any period-practice devotee.

What this means as far as fidelity to the repertory is concerned I’ll leave to guitarists, but to the music Starobin brings a level of refinement rarely heard. Not only do the inner workings of pieces like Sor’s studies reveal themselves with surprising contrapuntal clarity but the musical line in pieces such as the Cantabile in A major and the Andante in D minor unfolds in a truly seamless legato. Under Starobin’s fingers, Sor’s music may still fall short of Bach but it holds up admirably against much of Scarlatti.

Starobin has a fine list of accomplishments – founding and running Bridge Records being among them – but high on the list should be his efforts in getting repertory like this taken seriously.