If there is a musical equivalent to a great French red wine, the music of Emile-Robert Blanchet (1877-1943) would be a worthy candidate.

Pianist Karl-Andreas Kolly has taken on piano music by his Swiss compatriot and recorded it on Super Audio CD, much of it probably for the first time.

Blanchet studied with Busoni, so its no wonder that his music too, knows no bounds pianistically. The naturalness with which Andreas Kolly masters these supreme difficulties leaves room for musical depth with long enduring resonance.

After studying in Weimar and Berlin, Blanchet returned to Lausanne, where he taught at the conservatoire and also took over its direction for a time. Whether in the numerous etudes, ballads or nocturnes, Blanchet’s idiosyncratic harmonies unfold their multi-layered charms.

Karl-Andreas Kolly traces these special sounds with great sensitivity; the Steinway concert grand “Manfred Burki” from 1901 with its profound depth and brilliant treble does the rest for a lasting listening experience that virtually invites repetition.