Recordings: Kernis’ quartets get their due; Cuban music’s subtler side is revealed; old-time Puccini is unearthed, and more.

Young English pianist Kempf, born in 1977, is much admired in some European circles. This is his first commercial recording, and it is a canny one, full of popular young-man’s music played with conviction.

The sonic brilliance of his playing of a Yamaha piano sometimes takes on a harsh quality, and Kempf’s range of color is not huge. But there is also cherishable clarity, a sense of enthusiastic spontaneity, and--of course--thrilling technical skill. Best is the kaleidoscopic “Carnaval,” but Kempf’s often contrarian rethinking of the “Arabesque” and daunting “Humoresque” holds attention as well.

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