There can be no doubting the cultural significance of Mikis Theodorakis in post-war Greece. Although, like his older contemporary Xenakis, he soon rebelled against what he considered the dictates of the European avant-garde, an intimate involvement with his country through periods of military dictatorship meant that his music took on an altogether more populist immediacy. From the impassioned song-cycles of his early maturity to the symphonic and dramatic works of his later years, the force of his personality has never been absent.

This disc features two substantial concertante pieces from the 1990s. The Cello Rhapsody is in nine sections, named after the Muses of classical antiquity. The extent to which their artistic domain is reflected is not easy to pin down but the balance between ballad- and dancelike numbers is astutely judged; indeed, the work’s balletic quality makes it ideal for choreography. The Guitar Rhapsody is in seven sections and rather more abstract in nature, though the provenance of the work in a Lorca song-cycle from the early 1970s is evident in the music’s sombre lyricism and in the hypnotic melodic writing of the lengthier fourth and sixth sections.

Both performances are marked by fine solo contributions and idiomatic playing from the Nuremberg orchestra, aided by sound that has the vividness of a film soundtrack. Detailed notes and an interview with the composer help set the pieces in context.