Though he wrote a few large-scale orchestral works, Suk was happier with smaller forms, and his piano music includes some of the most attractive pieces in the Czech repertory. Some of it is gathered in short collections, assembled for no particular reason. Such were Moods (‘Nálady’) and Things lived and dreamed (‘Zivotem a snem’). Pavel Stepán has a quick gift for characterising these and a good ear for the sometimes subtle structures which underlie Suk’s invention and which lend them strength.

About Mother (‘O matince’) is a sequence of five pieces in which Suk mourned the death of his young wife Otilie, Dvorák’s daughter, with some musical memories for their son. Stepán handles well the affecting piece in which the insistent, halting throb reflects the frail beat of Otilie’s heart, even if he does so rather more sensationally than the movingly restrained Risto Lauriala on his recital. The final ‘Memories’ (‘Vzpomínání’) is simply and touchingly played.

There is ample choice for those curious to explore the music of this very sympathetic composer. Enthusiasts may already have acquired Niel Immelman’s three recitals for Meridian, the second of which includes About Mother. Radoslav Kvapil also plays the suite in a Suk recital on Regis, adding the Op 7 pieces as well as Spring and Summer Moods. Kvapil is perhaps the most appealing, especially for his delicacy and perceptiveness, and for his tact in not leaning too heavily on quietly expressed emotions. But the new release has the merit of covering almost everything Suk wrote for the piano and is very enjoyable.