This recital unites three solo piano works by Pēteris Vasks, the Latvian composer who turned 75 last year. It begins with two premieres – of his first and his most recent pieces – while the bulk of the disc is given over to his longest work for piano. All three are inspired by nature, a theme that Vasks has long held dear. And for pianist Reinis Zariņš, this music holds the key to understanding the landscape and nature of Latvia. “It mirrors better than a mirror,” he writes in his booklet note.

There’s no mistaking the birdsong, with its falling call, written into the very fabric of the opening work, Cuckoo’s Voice (Spring Elegy). This 12-minute piece opens with music of pure reverie, tenderly played by Zariņš, before finding an elegiac mood, reminiscent above all, of Finzi’s harmonies and wistful melancholy. As the music gathers pace, the tension ebbs, and flows, but eventually builds into emotional climaxes of Rachmaninov-like intensity. Cuckoo-call major thirds, mixed with minor thirds and fourths, are peppered throughout, and when Cuckoo’s Voice reaches its final stretches, they...