What did the following three pianists have in common: Paul Jacobs (American), Yuri Egorov (Russian), and Rafael Orozco (Spanish)? All perished during the AIDS epidemic of the 80s and 90s. Of these, Jacobs was a cult figure, Egorov’s career was nipped in the bud, but Orozco was for a short while a considerable presence on the concert scene.

Rafael Orozco. Photo supplied

In the 1970s he made recordings for Philips, which are gathered together in this release. Orozco was the same vintage as Pollini, Ashkenazy and Nelson Friere, and I would place him somewhere among them in terms of approach. In that era, pianists still concentrated on projection – as they needed to in large halls with no microphones to help. Orozco, a student of Alexis Weissenberg and Artur Schnabel, had a very fluent but also a big technique (like Weissenberg). He made statements!

His strength brings extra gravitas to Chopin, who never sounds like a parlour composer in his hands, yet Orozco can be introspective and lyrical when called for – as in the central melody of the “Funeral March” movement of Chopin’s Sonata No. 2. His disc of the...