Gabriel Fauré

Fauré wrote music that looks straightforward on the page and is not, which is exactly what makes him useful and frustrating in equal measure.

For pianists the Barcarolles, Nocturnes and the four-hand Dolly suite are the core; Dolly is the accessible way in and genuinely delightful. The Requiem is one of the most-sung choral works in existence and is published in two quite different versions — the small-scale original and the later full orchestration — with vocal scores for both. Singers have over a hundred songs, of which Après un rêve is the one everyone knows.

His harmony moves in ways that do not fall under the fingers by habit, and his pedalling is not marked. An edition with sensible fingering earns its price; there is no urtext controversy worth worrying about.