There are all sorts of curiosities and strange musical decisions in these live recordings (no hint whatever of an audience’s presence, by the way). The first is the time it takes Lang Lang to play the opening measures – 45 ponderous seconds, the longest on record. It has the immediate effect of making you think about Lang Lang rather than Rachmaninov. But then the powerfully projected bottom Cs and Gs thumping away underneath the strings of the great opening theme are undeniably exciting. Perhaps this is going to be a gripping performance after all.

But no. Where, for instance, Earl Wild whips up almost orgasmic excitement before the alla Marcia section and observes the maestoso marking to spine-tingling effect, Lang Lang plays it with the efficiency of any good pianist. Valery Gergiev brings out some frequently overlooked details in the slow movement (listen from 2’18” to the pizzicato violins shadowing the clarinet), but his soloist remains earthbound and bland. The last movement, like its predecessors, lacks that vital spark. Indeed, there is an underlying lethargy to the whole performance manifested in the overall timing, exactly five minutes slower than the composer’s 1929 classic account.

The same observations apply to the Paganini Variations. Compare the relish with which Wild,Rubinstein, Kappell and Hough attack the first few variations, and also the unaffected simplicity with which they sing the famous 18th. With Lang Lang’s piano placed even further forward than in the concerto, the musical argument is dominated by one protagonist throughout, a balance which not only reduces the effectiveness of quick-fire repartee (as in Variation 9), but also creates a quite false sound picture to that which would emerge naturally in the concert hall.

Lang Lang is a prodigiously gifted artist and his performances of these much-recorded works are fine as far as they go, but only the pianist’s army of publicists could claim that these versions compete with the finest.