BBC Music Magazine: outstanding; Music Web International: outstanding. Born in Chalkida in 1904, Nikos Skalkottas studied the violin in Athens and Berlin before turning to composition, studying with Kurt Weill and Philipp Jarnach and, most importantly, with Arnold Schoenberg. After returning to Greece in 1933 he worked in obscurity as an orchestral violinist, and much of his music went unperformed in his lifetime. This disc presents the substantial Piano Trio of 1936 in its world première recording and the Eight Variations on a Greek Folk Tune for piano trio, alongside a group of late works for cello and piano – Largo, Bolero, Serenata, Sonatina and Tender Melody – which combine his rigorous technique with Greek colour and lyricism.