Jeux d'eau
Miroirs
Sonatine
Menuet antique
Valses nobles et sentimentales
Pavane pour une infante défunte

Listening to the piano music of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) is like stepping into another dimension. Light, ethereal, elysian, somewhat jazzy, and yet grounded in centuries of tradition. Not as eccentric or off-kilter as Erik Satie, nor fully impressionist like Claude Debussy, but of a French style and harmonic soundscape all its own.

Most of it demands a finespun and nuanced approach combined with meticulous accuracy whilst being allowed to sound completely informal. Quite the deviation from the debut recording by Turkish pianist Emre Yavuz of the hyper-romantic and heavy-handed music of Sergei Rachmaninov (reviewed here). But with finely articulate and detailed phrasing, he pulls off the changeover very well. And unlike so many pianists who strive strictly for the sparkle with highly affected and theatrical playing, Emre Yavuz quite simply enhances the raison d'être and impulse behind each piece.

The weightlessness of Une barque sur l'océan from 'Miroirs', the grace and nobility of the Menuet antique, the passionate dance elements of Alborada del gracioso also from 'Miroirs', the composer's intent is always under the pianist's touch and perceptive observations. As fine an overview of Ravel's output as any.