As the booklet-notes point out, the big news emerging from the 1980 Chopin Competition was the jury’s decision not to name Ivo Pogorelich among the finalists, and Martha Argerich’s sensational withdrawal from the jury in dissent. If the publicity essentially launched Pogorelich’s career, the same cannot be said of another contestant who did not progress to the finals, Angela Hewitt. Could it be in a spirit of contrite restitution that the National Chopin Institute has released a sampling of Hewitt’s live performances during the first, second and third stages of the competition that October in Warsaw?

Hewitt’s unhurried, spacious tempos allow for maximum textural clairty. A sort of Olympian calm reigns over the B flat minor Sonata, allowing the Funeral March to speak with unforced grandeur, and conjuring an ethereal Presto sotto voce finale that seems to disappear before it has begun. There’s a full-blooded F sharp minor Polonaise with a beguiling Tempo di mazurka Trio. The four Preludes from Op 28 recorded here, as well as the F sharp Nocturne, present Hewitt’s sharp ear for detail and contour. On the other hand, the F minor Fantasy, like so much of Hewitt’s Liszt-playing, strikes as long on dutiful calculation and short on inspiration. Phrasing in the Op 50 Mazurkas seems so similar as to border on the formulaic, de-emphasising the spirit of the dance.

The recorded sound is dimensional and lifelike, though it is difficult to discern if a certain tinny sound in the upper registers is due to the recording itself or a miscalculation in the regulation of the instrument. Audience noise is at a minimum.

Many qualities of the mature pianist are readily recognisable in the 22 year-old contestant, among them careful attention to Chopin’s polyphony, with often surprising though natural voice-leading; a deftly calibrated sound palette; and a strong point of view in virtually every work. Hewitt devotees will find this release irresistible, raising the question why, in her mature discography (with the exception of the Nocturnes and Impromptus – Hyperion, 12/04), she has recorded so little Chopin. And, no doubt, all lovers of Chopin will find interesting, even provocative interpretative insights.