‘In the end, it boils down to – would you want to hear this pianist again?’ So said Paul Lewis, the jury chair of the 2018 Leeds Competition, when the then 20-year-old Chinese-American Eric Lu won the top prize. The pianist who plays Chopin’s Preludes on this disc definitely deserves to be heard again, and again. Lu explores each of these miniatures with the utmost poetry and sensitivity. Each rubato is tastefully and naturally blended in, with some magical piano sound to boot (though Warner Classics could maybe go a little easier on the resonance next time). But it’s how Lu has fashioned the set into a single whole that is the most inspiring aspect. Each Prelude becomes a mini-chapter of an overall narrative, from the once-upon-a-time C major all the way to the tumultuous D minor. Tempos are a little on the slow side, but only insofar as this allows individuality and imagination to shine through. The famous ‘Raindrop’ Prelude, for instance, becomes gently Impressionistic rather than crudely naturalistic. And when brilliance and élan are called for, as in the immediately following presto con fuoco B flat minor, there is no shortage of virtuoso address, yet at the same time no sacrifice of poised musicianship.

Lu’s choice of fillers is another mark of his wisdom and musicality. But in practice neither the Brahms Intermezzo nor Schumann’s Ghost Variations add as much value as they might. Schumann’s final piano piece is admittedly a hard sell, despite the heartbreaking story that comes with it. Still, Schiff makes a much more convincing case, taking a more flowing tempo and bringing out countermelodies in such a way as to guard against the kind of monotony that afflicts Lu’s interpretation. And nowhere is the lack of flow more damaging than in Lu’s Brahms Intermezzo. Whether through incompatibility of temperament or simple misjudgement, this, unlike his Preludes, certainly doesn’t invite repeated listening.