Ronald Center (1913–73) is sometimes described as ‘the Scottish Bartók’, and his music does indeed capture some of the wild energy of the Scottish landscape in a style of Bartókian asperity. It shows affinities with the music of Busoni, Debussy, Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Vaughan Williams, absorbed into an individual style that is audibly Scots. Center wrote with striking concision and meticulous craftsmanship, his works encompassing a range of emotions – heart-felt sorrow, grim humour, relaxed lyricism, dark despair – in a crisp and succinct manner, animated by sharp wit and irony. This April saw the centenary of Center’s birth, an anniversary unmarked in his native Scotland. This release came about through the efforts of three expatriate Scots: the pianist Christopher Guild, writer and Center expert James Reid Baxter and record-label-owner Martin Anderson of Toccata Classics. Center’s best-known student is the broadcaster James Naughtie, who has written fondly of his old teacher.