This album’s title, ‘Dreamtime’, suggests a programme of quiet listening – a slew of soothing adagios, perhaps – but it’s actually nothing of the sort. In a booklet note, Emmanuel Pahud writes that, rather than ‘stylistic or chronological consistency’, he wanted instead to illustrate ‘the power of dreams and the unreal, as well as the strength of the composers’ personal Romantic visions’. In other words, he’s casting an extremely wide net.

Whether Mozart had a ‘Romantic vision’ for his Andante is debatable but Pahud’s sweetly expressive and quite leisurely reading is certainly evocative. Carl Reinecke’s Ballade, on the other hand, is clearly painted in the moonlit shades of a nocturnal opera scene that exudes mystery and longing. The slow movement of his Concerto is remarkably similar in tone; and if the outer movements are not particularly dreamy, their gentle lyricism still fits the bill. As in the Mozart, Pahud seems to hone his interpretations to his theme, so that even the finale’s virtuoso fireworks (starting at 5'36") are more songful than scintillating when compared with, say, Patrick Gallois (Naxos) or Sharon Bezaly (BIS, 11/13).

Reinecke’s Concerto is delightful but it’s no masterpiece. Still, it’s far more compelling than the Penderecki, which often sounds as if it was scored for a suspenseful, low-budget TV movie (try track 4). Pahud revels in the music’s noir ish tone, however, and his enthusiasm is matched by the Munich Radio Orchestra, who play with character and commitment under Ivan Repušic´. They also give exceptionally detailed readings of Takemitsu’s I hear the water dreaming and Busoni’s magnificent Divertimento – two very distinct works that both make their expressive points through shifting tonal exploration.

The engineers have placed Pahud quite close to the microphone, which not only makes his sound larger than life, it also means we hear his sharp intakes of breath (this is starkly audible when listening on headphones). I found this quite distracting at first, but then the sheer quality of the music-making made me forget it entirely.