What is not clear is exactly when these performances were captured. During the actual rounds? During the winner’s recital? The booklet doesn’t help, beyond mentioning the month and the hall where the recording was made. An audience is evident only at the end of the A flat Polonaise and in some quiet moments of the C minor Nocturne. Whatever the case, it’s possible that, in a couple of decades, Cho may be less than grateful to his DG producers for having captured him, up-close and personal – and for commercial consumption – during the enormous pressures attendant before, during and after any international piano competition.

There are lovely moments in the Preludes. The expert pacing of No 2 (A minor) turns silences to strong dramatic effect. No 4 (E minor) achieves a genuine pathos, though its eloquence could have been heightened by not rushing the forte passage. Misplaced rubato disturbs the momentum of No 9 (E major). A slow, soft start to a phrase that should be strong and decisive from the beginning scuttles No 18 (F minor). Predictably, No 24 (D minor) is note-perfect. Generally, Cho’s playing exhibits admirable clarity of texture, though when things get hot musically he frequently succumbs to the youthful temptation to speed up. Of the many sets of Preludes that have appeared this season, this may be the most uneven. Musically speaking, it is a far cry from the magisterial set by Cho’s compatriot Dong-Hyek Lim. (The comparison, however inevitable, is of course unfair: Lim is a decade Cho’s senior and his Preludes were recorded in a studio.)

For all its turbulent enthusiasm, the B flat minor Sonata seldom strays beyond the routine. If Cho may be said to have an Achilles heel, it is an inexplicable rhythmic instability that surfaces without warning or reason; unfortunately the C minor Nocturne, Op 49 No 1, serves as its veritable showcase. Despite the perfection of the pianissimo left-hand octaves in the Trio of the A flat Polonaise, the dance itself seems shorn of defining characteristics: poised hauteur, elegant phrasing, and breadth and sweep of gesture.