Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No 2 in B flat minor, Op 36 (1913 version); Morçeaux de fantaisie, Op 3; Variations on a Theme by Corelli, Op 42

This is a remarkable debut disc from the young Sicilian pianist Alessandro Mazzamuto, who was born in 1988. The booklet notes talk of Mazzamuto’s approach being closer to that of an older era of pianists (something that is often said about Benjamin Grosvenor, too) and it is easy to see what they mean. Although Hélène Grimaud on DG opts for a slightly different, hybrid text of the Second Sonata, it is still instructive to compare the two and it is Mazzamuto who triumphs in his remarkably fluency. He balances the textures impeccably (though perhaps the bell-like descants are slightly under-accented) and the Non allegro is tender without a hint of wallowing. This is a thinking man’s Rachmaninov. Even the famous Prelude in C sharp minor (from Op. 3) becomes a miniature tone-poem. The Corelli Variations (given as one track) unveils itself mysteriously in playing that belies the pianist’s tender years.

COLIN CLARKE Read the full review on Agora Classica