The many virtues and occasional drawbacks characterising the first two instalments of François-Frédéric Guy’s Beethoven cycle spill over into this final three-disc volume. Compared to the hurling momentum and biting accents with which others imbue the first two sonatas’ opening movements (Pollini and Kovacevich), Guy is relatively sedate, although he always finds subtle shifts in emphasis and nuance during repeats. He does not entirely avoid the arch tenutos that most pianists deem necessary in the Rondo of Op 2 No 2, yet he makes up for it with a beautiful Largo appassionato highlighted by impressive textural differentiation. In Op 2 No 3’s Allegro con brio, Guy’s minute tempo modifications and inflections add appropriate suspense, setting the stage for a heartfelt, warm-toned Adagio. However, the Scherzo and Rondo fall slightly short of Pollini’s lightness, animation and wit.

The Les adieux Sonata’s first-movement Adagio introduction is dark, brooding and well sustained but the Allegro doesn’t quite take wing. Happily the finale comes alive with swaggering bravura. Guy’s proportioned flexibility in the lovely and sometimes underrated two-movement Op 90 Sonata underlines the music’s lyrical proximity to Schubert. He also brings out the sense of surprise in the last movement’s concluding melodic arabesques. His latest thoughts on the Hammerklavier Sonata invite comparisons between his two earlier recordings of this formidable work. While his technical and musical command of all challenges cannot be denied, certain expressive features have morphed into mannerism. Take, for example, the exaggerated slowing down just before the alternating upward broken fifths and sixths that lead into the first movement’s recapitulation. The gesture is less pronounced on his second recording (Naïve) and non-existent on his first (Harmonia Mundi). While the Scherzo is a tad earthbound next to its predecessors, Guy’s smoother dispatch of the F major scales in both hands adds a touch of irony to this defiant gesture. Elsewhere, the final fugue strikes a balance between Guy 1’s insouciant sweep and Guy 2’s sharper detailing, while the Adagio sostenuto has gained fluidity and intensity.

The pianist’s live Op 109 surpasses his Harmonia Mundi version with a more shapely and pointed first movement, a Prestissimo hat no longer rushes in places, and far more specificity, colour and unity governing the third-movement variations. Op 110 proves similarly inspired and features uncommon clarity in the first movement’s left-hand figurations, marvellous contouring of the Allegro molto’s cross-rhythmic phrases and a carefully built-up and exultant fugue. Guy makes the most of the left-hand descending suspensions in the first-movement introduction to Op 111 and also unfolds the tempo relationships between the Arietta’s variations on faith. However, by doing so, he tends to push the quickest dotted rhythms to the point where the syncopations flatten out. The recording captures both the venue and Guy’s instrument accurately, while applause is saved for the end of each disc.