The competition in the two concertos is fierce indeed, but not when they appear either side of the much less played Malédiction. Historically it is an apt choice, for it was begun in 1833, a year after the E flat Concerto (No 1). Both went through a series of revisions; but while the concerto was eventually published in 1856, Malédiction lay forgotten until 1915.

So how does Alexandre Kantorow (b1997) stack up? Pretty well. The opening bars of the E flat Concerto immediately proclaim a youthful tiger of the keyboard. If tone production is less of a consideration than ardency, it is a marginal concern. His virile sense of drama and crisp response to any question-and-answer argument with the orchestra (especially in the A major Concerto, No 2) are electrifying. Kantorow has a marvellous leggiero touch, but when Liszt asks for con furore, ffff avec enthousiasme, il più presto possible (all from Malédiction) then Kantorow does not hold back with thrilling bravura, aided by the exemplary support of his violinist-conductor father. Not surprisingly, they are telepathically attuned to one another.

In one area, though – and this applies to all three works – I part company with them. Too frequently, a pause indication in the score becomes not a comma or a couple of deep breaths but a tea break. All tension evaporates before the music resumes, often leading to a slower section where the Kantorows adopt tempi much below the norm. A compact but telling illustration is the unaccompanied four bars before fig G (the allegro moderato section) of the A major concerto, marked Tempo del andante (cadenza). Where most seasoned Lisztians (Freire, Katchen, Hough, chosen at random) play these most expressively (0'25"), Kantorow extends them to an unsustainable 0'45". Such tempo relationships may not trouble others as much but they leave this listener with the impression of the lyrical playing applied externally.

The sound recording by BIS’s preferred Take 5 team is demonstration-class and blessed with superb detail. It is hard not to be impressed by Kantorow in the concertos, but Malédiction is why you should buy the disc.