The Bulgarian Pancho Vladigerov’s rising profile on disc receives a considerable boost in this recital by his young compatriot pianist, Nadejda Vlaeva, clearly more than able to rise to the challenge of their atmospheric and technical demands.

Born in the last year of the 19th century, over the course of his near 80-year life Vladigerov became a hugely influential figure, his legacy marked by Bulgaria’s National Academy of Music appending his name to its title. His blending of native folk idioms within the structures of European art music produced a distinctively cosmopolitan voice that remains eloquent, attractive and rewarding.

Nadejda Vlaeva

While his orchestral music has been well-served in recent years on disc, his chamber and instrumental music has fared less well, making Hyperion’s coupling of two substantial sets for solo piano a welcome, and recommendable, addition to the catalogue.

Both works here are youthful creations, the Ten Impressions – Vladigerov’s Op. 9 – composed in 1920, the year of his graduation from Berlin’s Academy of Arts, the Six Exotic Preludes (Op.17) completed four years later. Both are substantial,...