Stojowski was born and brought up in Poland though he later lived in Paris and finally became an American citizen. He was both virtuoso pianist and serious composer (he wrote a symphony and violin concerto as well as music for his own instrument) and his initial career was full of promise. Unfortunately for his later reputation his style was that of a previous generation and in the 20th century his music was viewed as increasingly dated. One hundred years later this hardly matters and on this CD we find works steeped in the language of Tchaikovsky and Grieg, perhaps with a hint of Saint-Saëns and the almost sentimental lyricism of Paderewski (ten years Stojowski's senior, Paderewski was both teacher and friend to the younger composer, the second concerto was dedicated to, and played by him).