The two recordings of the Piano Concerto by John Browning are a distinctly hard act to follow. The first, in 1964, with the Cleveland Orchestra under Szell, has all the freshness and panache of a young pianist announcing a masterpiece with stunning conviction: the second, in 1991 with the St Louis Orchestra under Slatkin, still has the imprimatur of Barber’s chosen exponent and topped my Gramophone Collection (4/01). There have been more recordings since, including Jon Kimura Parker and Stephen Prutsman, but Nuti has a fine technique although neither the orchestra nor the recorded balance are up to the Americans.

The coupling of the three Essays, spanning Barber’s entire career, is attractive. The First is a contemporary of the famous Adagio for strings – the two works were launched together under Toscanini in 1938 – and is equally elegiac. The Second, from the war years, is more grandiose, and the Third was written in Italy in 1978 and premiered that year by the New York Philharmonic under Mehta. This last Essay, with its sumptuous Straussian slower section, shows that Barber did not change. The year after that premiere he provocatively told Allan Kozinn: “There’s no reason music should be difficult for the audience, is there?” The performances are all reliable and the CD is a welcome centenary tribute from Italy to a composer who had so many rewarding connections with that country throughout his life.