David Philip Hefti (b1975) has emerged during a period in which the European avant-garde no longer dominates the new music scene, having created an idiom that is drawn from diverse sources yet beholden to none. This is evident in ROTAS (2009), an oboe concerto and last in a five-part cycle inspired by the magic square beloved of alchemists and artists alike. For all that, the piece is structured along relatively orthodox lines: the lengthy and restless opening movement, “Circular Breath”, followed by an “Interrupted Scherzo” in which the sound of the solo instrument and its reed are comically interchanged, before a “Farewell Song” introduces the oboe d’amore in music whose often plaintive yearning eventually finds repose.

The orchestral contribution comes to the fore in Wunderhorn-Musik (2008) where the violin has more of a concertante role. Hefti has emphasised that the seven texts taken from the famous anthology of folk-verse had only a subliminal influence but it is not hard to perceive a dialogue between ardour and caution in “The Knight and the Maid”, a rapt stillness in “Evening Star”, a conflation of elation and tragedy in “The Wedding Horror” or an encroaching desolation in “The Lonely Shepherd”. Rahel Cunz is no less aware of its subtleties than is Thomas Indermühle in the oboe concerto, and they are ably supported by their respective orchestras and conductors. Overall presentation is of the high standard expected from Neos, and those curious as to the music of a “composer to watch” need not hesitate.