The Russian-born German-Swiss composer Paul Juon (1872–1940) produced a generous amount of piano music – no fewer than 35 opus numbers – that has yet to be explored in any detail. This first instalment of the first-ever survey of his piano music reveals a composer close to his Russian roots but also alive to the music of his own time. His style has much in common with Medtner and Rachmaninov, both friends from student days, but with a harmonic freedom that suggests Debussy. His inventive use of rhythm calls on folk influences from Azerbaijan, Armenia and elsewhere. This release is the first of a series of collaborations between Toccata Classics and Mexican musicians.

The Mexican pianist Rodolfo Ritter is a frequent soloist with most of the major Mexican orchestras, performing the complete piano concertos of Bartók, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich and Stravinsky, as well as less-well-known concertos by Martinů, Miguel Galvéz-Taroncher and Xavier Scharwenka, alongside the world premieres of the Second Piano Concerto by Manuel Ponce, the Ricardo Castro Piano Concerto and the Second and Third Piano Concertos by Gonzalo Curiel, works which he has also recorded – Ponce for Sterling and Curiel for Toccata Classics. His solo performances average around 50 a year; he is also a frequent concerto soloist and chamber musician, the presenter of a regular radio programme, and composes piano and chamber music for short films, produces recordings and arranges Mexican traditional music.