Having covered the concertos, Preludes, Études-tableaux and Moments musicaux to warm plaudits, Boris Giltburg now turns his attention to the sonatas. Once again there is plenty to approve, but also, I feel, some reservations to enter.

The thoughtfulness behind the performances is evident, even before reading Giltburg’s well-balanced booklet essay, concerning origins, revisions and – in the case of the First Sonata – the Faustian programme that Rachmaninov disowned but which Giltburg still finds relevant and inspirational. Everything about his playing is similarly lucid and well balanced, eschewing rhetorical excess and over-rich pedalling, and instead allowing the music to speak unencumbered by performerly ego. Technical command goes without saying but never becomes an end in itself, always serving the music rather than forcing the music to serve it.

If that sounds like some kind of back-handed compliment, in a way it is. In his determination to respect the music’s integrity, Giltburg risks under-playing its drama. If you thrill to these sonatas – as I do – for their headlong roller-coaster ride between euphoria and exhaustion, you will find yourself placed disconcertingly at a distance: more as spectator than participant. I look on with immense admiration and cannot but appreciate the pianistic command and sensitivity; but nor can I quite shake the impression of witnessing a rehearsal or an ‘insurance track’, rather than the abandon and sweep of a real performance.

That impression is reinforced by the sound of the Fazioli instrument, which comes across as a little shallow. I nearly wrote ‘strangulated’, but that would be too strong. It just feels a mite constrained, just as Giltburg’s playing at times seems to be holding the reins too tightly.

The Isle of the Dead transcription works remarkably well, reminding us how pianistic Rachmaninov’s instincts were, even when writing for orchestra. All in all, then, this is a stimulating release, but perhaps more for those who value an alternative view over involvement and inspiration.