To an already robust discography, Peter Jablonski adds a disc encompassing most of Scriabin’s Mazurkas. They span the composer’s life from around 1884, the presumed date of the very early B minor Mazurka, to the two Op 40 Mazurkas from 1903, contemporaneous with the Fourth Sonata. Jablonski, the Swedish pianist who turns 49 this year, has historically maintained a great deal of Russian music in his repertoire. And as the son of a Polish father, his commitment to the music of Poland extends from Chopin and Szymanowski to Maciejewski, Kilar and Lutosławski. Surely these are excellent qualifications for the interpretation of fine Scriabin Mazurkas?

And indeed they are. Jablonski brings extraordinary finesse to these dances, imbuing them with an unmistakable Weltschmerz that perfectly conjures the fin de siècle. From the first cut, the deft handling of the snappy ornaments of the B minor Mazurka (Op 3 No 10) is an indication that Jablonski’s approach is nothing if not idiomatic. The plaintive cantabile of G minor (Op 3 No 2) is one instance of the delicacy of sentiment that pervades these performances; the unspeakable sadness of E minor (Op 20 No 3) is another. And it shouldn’t be assumed that the musical pleasures here are restricted to miniatures. The last Mazurka of Op 3 lasts a full six and a half minutes, unfolding a rather involved narrative.

Of special interest are the two Op 40 Mazurkas, written on the threshold of Scriabin’s late period. They have a very different feel from their predecessors, certainly lighter in mood and perhaps more cosmopolitan.

There are occasions when one might wish for greater dynamic contrasts, until realising that would necessarily rob these superb performances of a good deal of their subtlety and understated charm. There’s much to enjoy here.