No ugly sounds, no striving for volume, no rhythmic inertia. Yundi Li has a relaxed technique and he is effortlessly in command of his physical resources. Better still, his intellect doesn’t lag behind. In the Sonata he rather holds back at first, the Grandioso section not quite that, the cantando espressivo bars that follow later somewhat strait-laced. But inhibitions begin to recede when the heroic passages return after the two brief cadenzas (4'13"); the long Andante sostenuto (track 3) shows fine control over pianissimo and rubato, and mettlesome qualities come to the fore from the fugue (track 4) onwards, with the B major ending suitably celestial.

Li isn’t a tawdry virtuoso. He is tasteful, and strenuous moments in either the Sonata or the Rigoletto Paraphrase never descend into bombast. Impressive, too, is his delicacy in the four-page ad lib cadenza (5'40"-7'26") of the Tarantella, as is his lucid yet unsentimental approach to Liebeslied (melody not emphasised at the expense of inner parts) and Liebesträume. The recording is not consistently sonorous; though the instrument is always true of timbre, there are variations in tonal body.

So, a very reassuring musician, but yet to equal seasoned Lisztians like Arrau, Bolet, Kempff and Richter. Traces of stiffness that occasionally creep into La campanella (not the delightfully crazy S140 as stated on the documentation, but the revised version, S141) is one example to show that talent needs time to blossom. If Li doesn’t succumb to the temptations of transient stardom, he could develop into a commanding artist.