A native of Frankfurt, Anton Urspruch was a student of Joachim Raff, later becoming one of Liszt’s favourite protégés. Urspruch’s style was more aligned with Mendelssohn and Beethoven, however, and he proclaimed that ‘you can’t understand modern music if you don’t understand Bach’. The Cavatine und Arabeske are delightful salon pieces, while the Variationen form an extensive canvas that revels in contrasting moods and constructional ingenuity. The short but emotionally packed Cinq Morceaux stand at the apex and final flowering of purely Romantic pianism in Europe.

We launched our Romantic Piano series in September 2025 with works by Julius Benedict on Naxos 8574586. With numerous world-premiere recordings, this series explores and promotes little-known composers and unusual repertoire. Further volumes present rarely heard music by Charles Gounod, works by Friedrich Kiel, and piano sonatas by Wilhelm Taubert and Józef Wieniawski.

Appearing here in her Naxos debut, María Linares has performed across Europe and as a soloist with numerous orchestras. She has been named Music Ambassador for Spain by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and, alongside a burgeoning concert career, is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma with Norma Fisher and Danny Driver at the Royal College of Music as a Constant & Kit Lambert Junior Fellow under a full scholarship.