In May, the project devoted to César Cui’s piano works continues: Australian pianist Paul Rickard-Ford presents Vol. 2 of the edition.

Cui was born in what is now Vilnius, the capital of present-day Lithuania, and began taking piano lessons as a child, initially from his elder sister. His first and last compositions were written for the piano, and in all he produced 29 opus numbers for the instrument (his complete catalogue comprises 106 works).

The valuable rediscovery of César Cui’s piano music (1835–1918) began with a 2-CD set recorded by Marco Rapetti (PCL10211), offering an overview of the composer’s early works from 1877 to 1888.

Australian pianist Paul Rickard-Ford now continues the project with a chronological survey ranging from the “Quatre Morceaux”, Op. 22, of 1883 to the “Theme and Variations”, Op. 61, of 1901. These works, dedicated respectively to Theodor Leschetizky and Josef Hofmann, demonstrate the esteem in which Cui was held in his day, even though he is now generally regarded as the forgotten member of the “Mighty Five”, the group of Russian composers.