To whom do you turn for the perfect set of Chopin Preludes? Personally, I don’t think such a thing exists, though many have come close – Moiseiwitsch in 1948, Cherkassky in 1968, Argerich in 1975 and, of course, Cortot in 1934 whose B flat minor Prelude equals Josef Lhévinne’s legendary 1936 recording in its awesome finesse. So how does this newcomer (no recording date is given) from the glamorous Venezuelan-American compare?

Question marks appear over the very first Prelude, with its uncertain line and peremptory final bar. Nor does the close piano recording help the lugubrious A minor Prelude to sing. But then things get better. If No 3 is given a literal reading, the left-hand leggieramente semiquavers are dispatched faultlessly with a light pedal. It’s as though Ms Perez has taken a little time to settle down and warm up because, by the time we reach the F sharp major Prelude (No 13), we are listening to playing of real depth and poetry. If the ‘Raindrop’ Prelude will be too drawn-out for some tastes, no such reservation can be applied to her scintillating execution of the treacherous B flat minor (only Moiseiwitsch and Argerich, of those listed above, are faster). All in all, a serious contender and she includes, as does Argerich in her resonant and often over-pedalled recording, both the stand-alone C sharp minor Prelude and Op posth in A flat major. Completing the disc are the Barcarolle, given a lovely quasi-improvisatory air, and a sturdy, thoughtful account of the Fantaisie in F minor.