Here’s an intriguing release that’s full of fascinating repertoire. An all-Australian recital of works for the soprano saxophone, the saxophonist Michael Duke teams up with pianist David Howie, who together are rather neatly known as the HD Duo.

Things start off with Peter Sculthorpe’s Rockpool Dreaming, originally commissioned by the ACO for the tenth anniversary of Neil Perry’s Sydney restaurant Rockpool. Sculthorpe had briefly considered writing a fanfare, but rejected this idea in favour of what he refers to as “a more poetic work, one with more fluidity of movement, and one with a slightly Asian flavour”. Re-arranged here by Duke and Howie (with violinist Evgeny Sorkin and cellist Julian Smiles stepping in as well), it’s a lovely work where the whirling accompaniment arpeggios twist and turn as Duke’s saxophone likewise weaves in and out of Sorkin and Smiles’ parts.

The big advantage of the soprano sax for composers is that it has a very similar register to other wind instruments. So, a couple of these pieces began...