Georgy Catoire (1861-1926) was a Russian composer of French extraction whose modest and outwardly conservative nature made for early neglect followed by near oblivion. Yet even when strongly influenced by a wide variety of Russian romantics - most notably Tchaikovsky and Scriabin - his music spices and enriches, say, the classic concert etude pattern with some startling twists and turns to both its harmonic and rhythmic life. Indeed, repeated hearings suggest a constantly evolving and personal voice, particularly when approached chronologically, as on this superlative disc. As early as the two Preludes from Op. 10 (the second with a romantic undertow beneath a shimmering surface) you are aware of an increasingly haunting and seductive individuality. Try the 'Capriccio' from the same opus, where an explosive whimsy blossoms into an indelibly Russian intricacy, or the 'Nocturne' from Op. 12 and you will hear the ghosts of former Russian musical masters transformed by a special poetic subtlety and brio.
All this music, whether evoking wintry landscapes or cosy firesides, the distant or clamorous peal of sleigh bells, is immaculately and sensitively performed by Marc-Andre Hamelin, a more than ardent champion. Hyperion's sound and presentation are superb and it would be hard to imagine one of music's most neglected by-ways illuminated with more pianistic ease and affection.'