Alessio Bax RACHMANINOV Preludes & Melodies

With this intricate and enterprising recital the wondrously gifted Alessio Bax fulfils, in his own words, a long-cherished dream. Here he couples the Op 23 Preludes with early works showing the influence of Tchaikovsky while at the same time remaining indelibly Rachmaninov, and a selection of transcriptions. These include his own arrangement of the Vocalise where, without surplus decoration (as in the Zoltán Kocsis transcription), he finds all of the composer’s dark-hued melancholy, playing with an impeccable sense of vocal line and with an intense and stylish rubato.

You would have to have a heart of stone not to be beguiled by Bax’s romantic warmth and freedom in “Lilacs” and “Daisies”, and if his Op 23 Preludes lack the classic quality of, say, Lympany or Osborne, his vividness and personality weave their own intoxicating spell. Bax’s depth-charge virtuosity in No 2 will set everyone’s pulse racing but he takes a no less gentle hand to No 6’s meandering sweetness. He captures all the restless energy of No 8 and spins his way through the treacherous double notes of No 9, a Russian Feux follets, with dizzying expertise.

Bax has written his own touching notes which help to erase the absurd ignorance concerning Rachmaninov of both the 1954 contributor to Grove and Percy Grainger quoted by Stuart Isacoff. Signum’s sound is bold and exemplary, and I can scarcely wait to hear this ardent and dazzling young pianist in the Op 32 Preludes, the Etudes-tableaux, Moments musicaux and much else besides. (Bryce Morrison / Gramophone)