Francisco Mignone (1897-1986) composed in many of the major genres, including more than a dozen stage works, concertos, orchestral, chamber and vocal pieces. He penned more than 230 works for his own instrument, the piano, many of them in collections and cycles such as the Transcendental Studies (1931), Six Preludes (1932) and Five Pieces (1976) given complete in Clélia Iruzun’s wide-ranging survey. The Pieces were written for the then 15-year-old Iruzun, whose lightness of touch is near ideal throughout. Many of the other items are excerpted from other sets, such as the dozens of Street Corner Waltzes (1938-43), Valsas choros (1955), Valsas de esquina (1963-84) or the 10 Countryside Legends: the Second given here dates from 1923, a fine, early example of his lifelong interest in Brazilian folksong and lore. Even his four Sonatinas were written in one go in 1949.

The style is that of gentle nationalism, often wistful in tone. Mignone’s love of dance is manifest – not for nothing was he known as the King of the Brazilian Waltz – and many of the pieces here, such as Botocudo’s Dance, Congada and Cucumbizinho, are infused with the spirit and rhythmic verve of street performers and choro bands. Mignone’s style of piano-writing owes much to Debussian impressionism but there are resonances of European music in general. The result is a fine legacy – not as brightly coloured or individual as Villa-Lobos or Guarnieri, to be sure – beautifully showcased here by Iruzun and Lorelt. The recorded sound is first-rate.