Schoenberg's theme arises from the opening notes of his 5 Piano Pieces, Op. 23. Evgeny Irshai sets this using the structure of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Completed in 2009, Evgeny Irshai is the pianist on this Pavlik Records disc. At 55 minutes it is a mega-piece of piano writing, and could well become a contemporary classic!

On a well filled disc, Letters to Ofodur is a tribute to the Polish President who died in an air crash in 2010 and Whispers and Cries is inspired by the film of Ingmar Bergman.

Could there be a more interesting way to discover the music of leading Slovakian composer Evgeny Irshai?