Esteemed as one of Germany’s leading music critics, Ferdinand Pfohl never lost a passion for composition that had been nurtured in Leipzig. He wrote highly individual works for his own instrument, the piano, conceiving cycles that reveal harmonic daring and sophistication, often evocative of developments in impressionism. As Strandbilder (‘Beach Pictures’) shows, he mastered tonal painting—while in the compositional unity of Suite élégiaque, Bohemian and Russian elements mingle with the influence of one of his great heroes, Grieg.