A lyrical, rubato-laden and slightly shapeless Valse impromptu opens Vanessa Benelli Mosell’s Liszt recital. The pianism is impressively refined and nuanced, yet I prefer Joseph Moog’s stronger rhythmic backbone and altogether brisker, lighter approach (Claves, 10/11). By contrast, her assertive, incisively accented trills and chromatic runs energise the Capriccio alla turca after Beethoven’s The Ruins of Athens. While ‘La leggierezza’ is technically sound but musically square, the four Hungarian Rhapsodies stand out for Mosell’s stylish bravura; she clearly enjoys showing off her supple octave technique in No 6. But the famous Third ‘Liebestraum’ is slow, laboured and more or less dead on arrival within the first few bars (compare Mosell’s heavy, prosaic left-hand accompaniment to the more animated eloquence of Jorge Bolet or even Lang Lang).

Mosell’s bright pace for the introduction to the Galop russe after Bulhakov deceptively leads into a slow, workaday main section, whereas Leslie Howard (Hyperion, 7/96) presents more unified tempi and a stronger sense of dance. However, Mosell truly gets the bubbling lilt in the Rossini transcription ‘La danza’ that eludes Tristan Pfaff’s more extrovert, barnstorming interpretation (Aparté, 10/11). She braves the Grand galop chromatique’s knuckle-busting challenges with more kick to her step than in Jorge Bolet’s relatively cautious recording (yes, Cziffra’s version wipes the floor with all others, even if his madcap conception is less of a gallop than a drag race). Keep this one for the Rhapsodies.