Bortkiewicz’s 1923 Concerto for the Left Hand was one of many works commissioned by the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein (others are by Korngold, Hindemith, Ravel, Prokofiev inter alia). Wittgenstein banned any others from playing “his” works until after his death. This occurred in 1961, yet even today the dog-in-a-manger Wittgenstein estate refuses to allow access to the pile of unpublished manuscripts in its archives.

Nevertheless, a copy of the score of Op 28 has been around since the early ’50s; this appears to be its first outing since then. It is effectively in two movements, its arresting Allegro dramatico opening repeated after a tender central Allegretto before a 3/4 folk-dance finale. Those with a penchant for glittering romantic piano music in the style of composers from half a century earlier will have an enjoyable if undemanding time. Much of it sounds like a collaboration between Max Steiner and Rachmaninov.

The tantalising subtitle of the 1927 Third Concerto, “Per aspera ad astra”, sadly does not fulfil its promise. Here Bortkiewicz (1877-1952) falls back, in the words of Maurice Hinson, on all of “the pianistic devices that Anton Rubinstein, Liszt and Rachmaninov used to better advantage”. Its one large-scale (29'06") movement is like climbing a mountain with a series of false peaks that leave you exhausted and wondering if you’ll ever reach the summit.

Having said that, the recorded sound and performances from all concerned are in the Hyperion Romantic Piano Series class, and I can’t offer higher praise than that. Stefan Doniga drives the music onward fearlessly and makes the best possible case for both works, neither of which quite equals the composer’s magnificent First Concerto.