It takes a real virtuoso to make the gnarly, block-like piano-writing of Tchaikovsky’s underrated Grande Sonate sound pianistically idiomatic and supple. Joseph Moog not only succeeds in doing this but also delivers one of the modern era’s best recordings of this work, alongside those of Mikhail Pletnev and Vassily Primakov.

Moog manages to convey the opening movement’s first theme’s pesante directive with animation and flexibility, along with stronger rhythmic profile in the second theme, by taking the composer’s poco rubato indication on faith. His literal yet subtly inflected approach to the slow movement’s changes in mood and texture minimalise the music’s sectional nature, although veteran pianophiles might miss Grigory Ginzburg’s affectionate tenutos and vocal robustness. Inner voices and cross-rhythmic accents account for themselves throughout Moog’s lithe, compact and deliciously scurrying Allegro giocoso. And Moog’s fabulous technique enables him to cleanly delineate the Allegro vivace finale’s massive, orchestrally inspired chords and cascading keyboard runs with maximum tutti/solo contrast and minimum tempo adjustment.

More than a mere filler, Xaver Scharwenka’s Second Sonata is a minor masterpiece in its own right, packed with soaring melodies, dense harmonic manoeuvring and an overall keyboard layout that one could mistake for Schumann (the lush doublings, the obsessive dotted rhythms). Although Seta Tanyel made a fine recording of this work for her Hyperion Scharwenka cycle, I prefer Moog’s characterful animation in the outer movements, his frolicsome fingerwork and pulverising accents in the second movement, plus his leaner, more transparent sonority all around. The variety with which Moog unfolds widely spaced chords and grace notes in the left hand makes his relatively strict tempo for the Adagio sound freer than it actually is.

The sensitive simplicity Moog brings to each composer’s shorter works sweetens the deal, notwithstanding the slightly dry sound. Jeremy Nicholas provides brief yet informative booklet-notes.