Sophie Cristofari (a name new to me and about whom the booklet tells us nothing) is a pianist who clearly feels in tune with Scriabin’s music. She isn’t always ideally refined or technically polished, but there is such a passionate commitment to her playing that you are swept along with her dynamic cut-and-thrust approach. She lives on the edge of what seems comfortable for her (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing with Scriabin) but when the music is at its most demanding she sounds overstretched.

I often found myself admiring the spirit in her playing more than the detail. Her bold delivery of the ultra-virtuosic B minor Fantasie, Op 28, reinforces what a marvellously daring piece this is, although there are numerous small pianistic imperfections (I don’t mean wrong notes, but rather voicing, pedalling and a clear sense of line). I like many of her ideas in the second and third sonatas, even if she is hampered by a lack of a genuine pianissimo (partly perhaps because of the very close recorded sound) and by a tone that easily becomes hectoring when things get tough. Try the climax of the Third Sonata, where the sense of arrival should be more ecstatic and joyful. In the more lyrical pieces her phrasing is rather stiff, her sound insufficiently malleable, her dynamic range too restricted.

Rough round the edges this disc may be, but it is still enjoyable for its daring commitment and for the fact that Cristofari is so passionately involved. Don’t expect perfection, but this is worth hearing.