Born in Russia in 1890, and the winner of the prestigious Anton Rubinstein prize at the age of nine, he made his UK debut in 1908, and was to use it his base for much of his later life. With a dearth of outstanding pianists in his adopted home, he was generally regarded as the country’s leading virtuoso, and widely judged as one of the most informed interpreters of Chopin. In his younger years he had made several attempts to record the complete 24 Preludes, but for unknown reasons they were never published. Though he often played the whole set in concert, he was fifty-eight before he eventually returned to them in the studio, and with some re-recording, they were completed in 1949. Keenly aware of dynamic nuances, he employs mercurial tempos for the fast Preludes, the sixteenth a show a real virtuosity. But I particularly enjoy the way he holds together the shape of the slow Preludes while never overlooking that they need tight rhythmic control if they are to make their maximum impact. He was also to make a number of recordings of the Ballades, though not always with success, the present foursome derived from sessions in 1939 and 1947, the fourth coming from unpublished test pressings. They are very affectionate accounts, maybe just a little lacking in character, though the playing is generally very good. The Fantasie-Impromptu, which rather acts as an encore, was recorded in 1952, the year of his death at the age of 73. Throughout the transfers capture a very realistic piano sound even by today’s standards.