Although Franco Margola (1908-1992) started to compose in the early 1930s and only stopped in his old age, it is certainly the case that – in his piano music, at least – he showed remarkable consistency. His first sallies, as we see at the start of this triple album, still reflect the teachings of Pizzetti and Casella, and we can also detect the influence of Ravel and Debussy, as well as the often-miniaturist architecture of Scarlatti, Chopin's delicate touch, and the offbeat humour – and likewise the absence of any virtuosity, including in the most imposing works like the Sonatas – of Satie. Sometimes, even Bartók has a turn with a little folk-music passage, and there are even a few cameos from... Scott Joplin. With his eight hundred and fourteen catalogued works, Margola is at the head of an impressive repertoire for piano, covered here by Alessandro Deljavan: it is an intriguing music, never jarring, and far removed from any kind of serialism (quite an achievement for a composer who lived through the whole 20th century!) and tonality here is neither an enemy nor a dictator. It's hardly a surprise that a number of pieces betray their pedagogical origins in this way when you consider that Margola spent many years as a teacher, first at the Caligari Conservatory and then in the Conservatory of Parma. Note that one of his piano concertos was performed by none other than Benedetti Michelangeli, and you will get some idea of the importance of this figure, even though he has remained rather little-known even after his death. © SM/Qobuz