Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto turns up more and more these days in competitions, concerts and recording sessions. That’s all to the good for what is arguably Prokofiev’s most characteristic composition, a work that toes an unpredictable line between soaring Romanticism and acerbic modernism. Hot on the heels of the recent Stewart Goodyear and Zlata Chochieva versions reviewed by Marina Frolova-Walker (11/24) comes yet another formidable contender.

Behzod Abduraimov’s expansive phrasing and potent left hand lend the opening Andantino a Brahmsian patina that contrasts with Goodyear’s steely clarity, abetted by the Royal Philharmonic’s shapely pizzicato strings and individualistic first-desk solo turns under Vasily Petrenko’s leadership. The orchestra effects a smooth transition into the Allegretto, where Abduraimov differentiates the composer’s myriad détaché articulations with enough colourful calibration to beat Olli Mustonen at his own game, not to mention the piercing clarity he brings to the dauntingly thick cadenza. The Scherzo zips by like a svelte greyhound: Abduraimov and Petrenko may not match Yuja Wang and Gustavo Dudamel for sheer speed, yet benefit from incisive brass chording and more contrast in legato and détaché articulation. Likewise, Abduraimov shapes the Intermezzo’s sardonic upward runs (starting 40 seconds into the movement) with greater point and variety compared with Wang’s relatively generalised brush strokes. Wang and Dudamel take the finale’s main theme at a precipitous clip that is superficially exciting, yet it sacrifices the cross-rhythmic impact of Prokofiev’s phrasings that the present recording brings out so strongly. What is more, Abduraimov’s central solo (6'00") conveys a concentration and brooding note-to-note continuity that digs deeper than most pianists.

Depth, however, has little to do with Alexey Shor’s derivative Piano Concerto No 1. The opening movement is a foursquare patchwork of building blocks from the Rachmaninov assembly line, pieced together with little sense of direction or melodic distinction, while the Andante’s themes sound like imitation Tchaikovsky. However, at 4'09" the music suddenly turns brilliantly virtuosic as Shor summons the Romantic piano concerto troops into engaging battle, with Grieg and Liszt at command central. Despite its thematic discontinuity (or possibly because of it), the Allegro con passione’s glittering piano-writing and triple-metre sweep add up to a fun ride, where listeners will wonder ‘now where have I heard that gesture before?’ Imagine the lovechild of the third movements of Schumann’s Concerto and Chopin’s Concerto No 2 studying with the Russian Five, and you’ll get the idea. Abduraimov and Petrenko unquestionably make the best case for this concerto.