The bright and honest sound of Finnish trumpet virtuoso Jouko Harjanne is impressively conveyed in this combination of original and arranged works. Some may baulk at Chopin being claimed but the effect can be surprisingly idiomatic, as in the Op 28 No 24 Prelude and the Scriabin later in the programme. If there is a misgiving overall it is that this disc has not been conceived as a complete listening experience, either in terms of repertoire chosen or how the performer’s range of coloration and expression is most effectively paced, despite the Slavonic theme which runs gently within.

Harjanne plays melodies beautifully, such as the nostalgic Tchaikovsky Romance, although without much inner contrast or emotional ebb and flow. His unwaveringly fine place-ment of notes (his only real fault is a tendency to be too stridently sharp in the upper reaches) is almost a hindrance in such circumstances as it requires a greater imaginative spark to relieve an unrelenting security and seam-less articulation.

I enjoyed the Rachmaninov Spring waters but would have done so more if his beguiling performance hadn’t followed so much un-adulterated lyricism. Nevertheless, the frothy Shakhov Scherzo provides delightful relief and mesmerising rhythmic vitality of the kind one hears fleetingly in the Dvorák dances and the popular Goedicke Etude. On paper, a good selection of works but overall not enough to bring the best out of Harjanne or to advocate fully the trumpet and piano medium.