A taste for clarity of thought, sobriety and purity of form, sincerity, disdain for grandiose effects’ : that was how Gabriel Fauré, the creator of a quintessentially French art, summed up his artistic and spiritual creed. In his output for piano, of which he was particularly fond, he followed the trail blazed by Chopin, fearlessly using the boldest strokes of harmony to colour his music with a highly individual charm.