Following the release of delightful piano music by Chopin’s pupils (8.572344), Naxos reveals more rarely-heard Romantic gems by these heirs of the ‘poet of the piano’. Each movement of Karol Mikuli’s Grand Duo is ingeniously based on two prevailing themes evoking Wagner, Schubert, Liszt and, of course, Chopin as it moves towards a triumphant conclusion. Thomas Tellefsen’s two violin sonatas reflect musical developments between the legacy of Beethoven and the advent of Grieg. Chopin’s favourite student, the short-lived prodigy Carl Filtsch, is represented by his charming Allegretto con variazioni.
