Presto Presents... Joanna Kacperek

Released on Rubicon Classics at the end of May, In Plain Sight sees the young Polish pianist Joanna Kacperek shining a light on music by seven female composers who were widely celebrated during their lifetimes but have since fallen by the wayside.

These include Marianna Martines (who played keyboard duets with Mozart and inherited the estate of the great librettist Metastasio), Agathe Backer Grøndahl (a close friend of Grieg and a pupil of Liszt), and Joanna's compatriot Grażyna Bacewicz (whose chamber and symphonic works have been enjoying something of a renaissance over the past decade or so).

The album received four stars in the latest edition of BBC Music Magazine, with reviewer Jessica Duchen observing that 'Kacperek's fluid playing makes even the most challenging pieces sound effortless' (many of the composers were virtuoso pianists themselves) and describing the results as 'a must-listen for anyone interested in unusual piano repertoire.'

Joanna visited Presto last month to perform a selection of pieces from the album, and to unpack the remarkable lives of three of the featured composers: Ingeborg Bronsart von Schellendorf, Cécile Chaminade and Mel Bonis.