What comes across most vividly in the Scottish pianist’s recordings, particularly in Impressionist repertoire, is a deep and joyous engagement with the sonorities of his instrument. Here he offers up some of the most fluid and vibrant Ravel I’ve ever heard, superior to Louis Lortie’s and to the earlier Hyperion survey by Angela Hewitt.

Gaspard de la nuit is the true test of technique for any Ravelian. While Osborne doesn’t quite attain the mirage-like perfection of Martha Argerich’s reading, his Gaspard is impeccably played, bringing darkness and mystery to the fore. Le tombeau de Couperin is faster and livelier than that of Anne Queffélec (whose interpretation he acknowledges as an influence) but loses none of the delicate refinement or lilting dance character.

As for the other famous works on the disc: in Pavane for a dead princess, Osborne shows just the right amount of restraint and eschews the tendency – much lamented by Ravel – to play too slowly in the manner of a dirge.

The solo piano version of La Valse was intended as a rehearsal score for the work famously rejected by Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes. As the pianist explains in his thoughtful liner note, it is not always included in Ravel piano collections but Osborne himself fleshed out the original utilitarian arrangement with riveting results.

Throughout this 2-CD set, listeners can be assured of clarity and fierce intelligence behind the lush, sensual gestures and expressive depths.