Born in Poland in 1867, Alexandre Tansman moved to Paris becoming one of the most esteemed Polish composers abroad. After the outbreak of World War II, the composer had to emigrate to the USA, which was facilitated by his friendship with Charlie Chaplin, whom Tansman befriended in the late 1920s. After the war, he returned to Paris as a well-established artist with an unquestionable musical legacy. Tansman was at ease when composing instrumental miniatures, a characteristic feature of his oeuvre.

This album (with the exception of Variations sur un thème de Scriabine) includes a number of works composed of short miniatures. The main inspiration for the Polish composer’s guitar output were performances of Andrés Segovia, a great virtuoso who introduced the guitar to the world’s concert halls. Classical guitarist Finbarr has appeared in concert halls regularly, performing at venues such as the Wigmore Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, and the Royal Exchange Theatre, to name but a few. Another aspect of Finbarr’s career has been his desire to play and champion new works; he gave the world premiere of two works at the Peabody Institute of Music in collaboration with the composition department and also gave the world premiere of Four Intermezzi written by distinguished composer and friend Eric Stewart in 2014.