The idea of a studio disc of encores is a little odd, given that the essence of the genre is to follow the main event and offer moments of spontaneous marvel and delight, feeding off the emotions already hanging in the air. Nelson Freire’s chosen pieces are, in effect, rather encores to his own long career (70 years, according to the booklet). To mark this milestone, he offers a fragrant bouquet of works, each with a personal association, as he tells James Jolly in an interview on the Gramophone website, either with his youth or with a particular pianist – from Guiomar Novaes (for Purcell’s Hornpipe and the Strauss/Godowsky Ständchen) to Horowitz (Scriabin’s Poème in F sharp minor).

Much as the interpretations are wrapped in Freire’s own personal charisma, they are not necessarily revelatory. The opening Sgambati transcription of the Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice certainly has a more natural flow than in, say, Hélène Grimaud’s exaggerated account (DG); but Yuja Wang (DG) achieves a far subtler balance and more refined pianism. Scarlatti’s D minor Sonata is surprisingly fast and agitated, with none of the charm and grace of Aldo Ciccolini’s 1958 recording. Freire makes convincing cases for Paderewski’s Nocturne and Strauss/Godowsky’s Ständchen, but the latter could still do with more crystalline clarity.

At the heart of the programme are 12 Grieg Lyric Pieces, each here depicted as a delightful tableau. But for real magic, we need to turn to Kozhukhin (Pentatone, 9/19), who brings these pictures to life as if in a Pixar movie, or to Andsnes (EMI/Warner, 4/02), who adds a dusting of Nordic legend. Similarly in Scriabin I miss the ethereal capriciousness of Horowitz. Following the two Rachmaninov Preludes, the selection of pieces is exquisite and truly encore-like. Compared to Volodos’s melancholy (Sony, 8/13), Freire finds more childlike innocence in Mompou’s ‘Jeunes filles au jardin’; both approaches are equally delicious. The Albéniz/Godowsky Tango is charming and sensual – though no match for Cherkassky’s pure wizardry (Decca). Freire’s take on the ferociously taxing Albéniz ‘Navarra’, though still slightly laboured compared to Alicia de Larrocha’s (Decca), has enough sunshine to make up for anyone’s vitamin D deficiency.