John-Henry Crawford took first prize in the 2019 Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition, and this recording (made very soon thereafter) was among his rewards. In my initial encounter – the opening movement of Brahms’s F major Sonata – I wondered whether the Louisiana-born cellist’s firm tone might benefit from a little more fat, but within a few minutes I was persuaded that his trim sound and his finely detailed reading actually fit together beautifully. He makes the most of the expressive hairpin dynamics scattered throughout the movement, and he does so without exaggeration. In the Adagio affettuoso (played at a flowing tempo that gently carries one along), note how sensitively Crawford and pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion sculpt the interplay between their instruments, and how in the Scherzo’s Trio section they reveal that the phrases seem to provide more questions than definitive-sounding answers.

Crawford sails through the technical challenges of Ligeti’s early Solo Sonata with aplomb, although it’s the way he transforms each movement into a miniature drama that I find even more impressive. Similarly, it’s the sense of storytelling and vivid characterisation that makes his and Asuncion’s Shostakovich so gripping. There’s such a rich variety of colour, touch and texture, and as much vulnerability (listen, say, to the first movement’s lyrical theme at 1'33") as dramatic intensity (as at 6'29" in that same movement). They really sink their teeth into the Scherzo, providing weight as well as bite, while the Largo is aptly desolate.

A splendidly satisfying recital on all counts. Orchid Classics’ recording, produced and engineered by Adam Abeshouse, is warmly intimate, with the balance between the instruments close to ideal. May we have the Kodály Sonata next, please?