Heitor Villa-Lobos’ works for solo piano are among his least well-known music, and the French pianist Wilhem Latchoumia’s imaginative album provides an ideal introduction. Latchoumia’s initially brooding, then boldly extroverted account of Chôro No. 5, “Alma brasileira”, shows how keenly he empathises with Villa-Lobos’ folk-influenced idiom. Brazilian life is also deeply embedded in the Cirandas, a set of pithy miniatures inspired by children’s nursery rhymes. Latchoumia is sharply characterful in these, revelling in the kinetic trills of “Passa passa gavião” (“Go away, go away, hawk”) and mulling the deeper emotions of “Que lindos olhos” (“What beautiful eyes”). The convulsive, 20-minute Rudepoêma (Savage Poem) is a major technical challenge for any pianist, but Latchoumia’s commanding interpretation is a revelation.