On his first recording for the Aparté label, Dmitry Masleev – winner of the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition – appears in joint roles, conducting the Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra from the keyboard. (This wasn’t the original plan; Masleev stepped in to replace the indisposed conductor.) The ‘Dies irae’ (day of wrath) plainchant melody from the ancient Roman Requiem Mass has been a source of inspiration for a number of composers – Berlioz famously used it in the Symphonie fantastique – but here it features heavily in Liszt’s Totentanz and Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody.

The Totentanz is one of Liszt’s most remarkable works – probably the first piece deploying glissando effects – and Masleev plays it as though his life depended on his desperate attempts to escape the Angel of Death. The excitement is visceral: his playing has high-octane Russian muscle and the orchestral playing by the Svetlanov ensemble is superb. If there is a better version of the Spanish Rhapsody – heard here in the string orchestra arrangement by Masleev’s teacher, Mikhail Petukhov – I haven’t heard it. Masleev is absolutely on fire and the Svetlanov strings are magnificent. Given the quality of the rest of the album, I had high hopes for Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody, but this didn’t quite meet expectations. There is some wonderful playing, certainly – the famous 18th variation is exquisitely and tastefully handled, and the treacherous leaps of the 19th variation are astonishing – but as a whole, I felt Masleev was slightly too contained and controlled, lacking some of the laconic self-confidence, sardonic wit and playfulness inherent in Rachmaninov’s score. The engineering throughout is first-rate and the balance between the piano and orchestra is excellent.

This review originally appeared in the SPRING 2025 issue of International Piano