Pianist has taken on a cycle of 's piano music and has generally succeeded in the ambitious task of providing a coherent outlook on it. One word for it might be "sober." Here, that outlook has mixed results. The prime attraction is the , which was written just before began work on the . offers an expansive reading of the first movement that brings out the connections and drills down into 's thinking of the moment, with careful handling of the gathering harmonic challenge to sonata form. The energy carries all the way through to the Rondo finale, which is really more of a sonata-rondo; ' reading has momentum that gives a satisfying conclusion. 's piano transcription of the is also very strong here, with keeping the texture clear even amidst technical thickets. The news in the , is less good. One's mileage (kilometers?) may vary, but the reading may strike listeners as ponderous, with clocking in at over 40 minutes for a work that in most readings takes six or seven less, or even fewer. A certain lightness might be thought to be inherent in the Impromptu form, but instead emphasizes and unpacks the works structurally. One can see what one thinks. As usual, has been well recorded by here, at an auditorium at the MTU Cork School of Music in Ireland. One awaits his further releases with interest. ~ James Manheim