The Estonian violinist Mihkel Kerem (born in Tallinn in 1981) is familiar as a performer in Britain as well as at home; he is also a prolific composer, with over one hundred works to his credit, three symphonies among them.

Hardly surprisingly, he has written for his own instrument, including a concerto and these four sonatas – the First an astonishing achievement for a thirteen-year-old and the Second hardly less surprising from a fifteen-year-old composer.

Kerem’s style is powerful and direct, reminiscent of Prokofiev in its steely strength and motoric energy.

This is one of a series of projected recordings of Estonian music on Toccata Classics, following on earlier discs of works by Ester Mägi and Veljo Tormis.

Mikk Murdvee, a childhood friend of the composer, is making a name for himself as a conductor as well as violinist and violist: in 2011 he was appointed conductor of the Helsinki University Symphony Orchestra, a position that has served as the springboard for the career of a number of prominent conductors.

Sten Lassmann has recently attracted attention for the first volume (Toccata Classics TOCC0119) of the complete piano music of the major Estonian composer Heino Eller - a reviewer for MusicWeb International felt that Lassmann ‘presides with such majesty and yield over this disc’.