Susan Kagan is an eloquent advocate and sympathetic interpreter of Ferdinand Ries’s piano sonatas and sonatinas, on which she is an acknowledged authority. While clearly indebted to his teacher Beethoven, Ries was nonetheless praised by Schumann for his ‘remarkable originality’ and eagerly explored the expressive potential of the piano, often anticipating the achievements of Chopin or Schubert. ‘[Ries is] a composer whose music deserves to be heard’ (Fanfare). Volumes 1–3 are also available (8.570796, 8.570743 and 8.572204).