Simone Leitão’s pianistically orientated Bach interpretations may not be the last word in stylish rectitude, yet they’re inherently musical. Note the conversational feeling she conveys in the part-writing throughout the C minor Partita’s Allemande and Courante, her unusual left-hand phrasings in the Rondeaux and the headlong Capriccio’s perky yet unexpected accents.

To be sure, Leitão’s brisk tempo for the Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 C minor Prelude yields momentary blurring, in contrast to her deliberation over the Fugue, with its oddly convincing tempo fluctuations. Her chiaroscuro voicings almost transform the Book 2 C sharp major Prelude into a kaleidescope, while the Fugue recalls Glenn Gould’s détaché attitude. However, the pianist’s studied point-making in the Italian Concerto’s first movement fails to propel the music forwards; nor does she separate the slow movement’s melody and accompaniment with the mesmerising textural distinction characterising the recordings by Angela Hewitt (Hyperion, 3/01) and Murray Perahia (Sony Classical, 12/03). Leitão’s left hand comes to the fore in her sprinting finale, although occasional heavy patches of articulation cause the basic tempo to ever so slightly decrease over time. Following a delightfully dashing Book 2 D minor Prelude, Leitão enlivens the Fugue’s alternating triplet and duplet phrases with a sense of ‘swing’ that is better heard than described.

Leitão begins the Bach Busoni Chaconne slowly and steadily, and lightens up in time for her supple octaves at the 2'44" mark. While the pianist’s smartly interwoven tempo relationships and assiduous transitions unify the reading well, it takes time for her tone to open up and for Busoni’s grandly upholstered virtuoso challenges to attain their large-scale potential and power. Reservations aside, Leitão’s best Bach-playing abounds with imagination and soul.