Brahms’s Op 118 Piano Pieces (DiscAuvers, 2017) revealed Anna Fedorova to be a sensitive and conscientious interpreter, although a tad dry and inhibited, possibly due to the drab engineering. She often makes a more robust impression with this recital of large-scale fantasies and sonata/fantasy hybrids. The opening salvo, Scriabin’s two-movement Sonata-Fantaisie in G sharp minor takes wing in the Presto finale, where Fedorova keeps the swirling textures and throbbing melodic lines in gorgeous perspective, if not quite matching the sabre-tooth incisiveness of Yuja Wang’s recording (DG, 8/09). She ardently basks in the first movement’s declamatory qualities, yet parks the lyrical passages in neutral, so to speak, at a far remove from, say, Ashkenazy’s enlivened inflections (Decca, 9/78).

According to her booklet notes, Fedorova has been playing Chopin’s Fantaisie for years, and it shows; her excellent performance proves to be the disc’s high point. The pianist’s well-integrated tempo relationships between sections help to ensure a unified narrative flow, while deftly navigating the music’s emotional shifts between gravitas and abandon.

She’s less successful doing so in the Schumann Fantasie’s volatile first movement, where the climaxes seem abrupt and episodic rather than building up to inevitable effect. Yet her ability to juggle multiple inner voices and keep them in play impresses. Fedorova’s tendency to taper the central march movement’s long dotted-rhythm lines undermines the music’s obsessive momentum, while the pianist sacrifices fervency for spot-on marksmanship in the treacherous coda, rendering the intended climax rather anticlimactic. However, the final movement is lovely, and, again, listeners will notice how Fedorova’s strongly independent hands create a three-dimensional textural perspective.

Fedorova makes expressive points in the (in)famous Adagio of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata through touch and emphasis, abetted by a steady yet never rigid basic tempo, and no expressive lily-gilding whatsoever. Yet her keen attention to voice-leading in the Allegretto is offset by studied diminuendos and other instances of overphrasing. Her Presto finale gets an A plus for textual scrutiny but fails to register on the proverbial agitato meter, sacrificing the forest for the trees, as well as dramatic tension.

Obviously Fedorova’s interpretations face decades of steep catalogue competition, yet it’s gratifying to hear how this talented pianist’s artistry has evolved since her previous solo release.