The photogenic 22-year-old German-Japanese pianist has won critical plaudits in these pages and elsewhere for her two earlier discs of Liszt (Transcendental Studies, 3/10) and Chopin (Waltzes, 2/10). For her first recording with orchestra she tackles a pair of old warhorses that are hardly desperate for attention. So what exactly does Miss Ott bring to the party? The answer is not much that others have not done equally well and better. What makes these performances stand out is Ott’s thoughtful approach to both concertos, eschewing empty display and bringing weight, detail and a range of colours to the solo parts. These bring their own rewards. What is missing, as a result, is the tingle factor. Characteristic is the first episode of the Tchaikovsky which is played for what it is – an introduction – but far too emphatically. Ignoring Hengelbrock’s quirky elongation of the final crotchet of bar 5 (the upbeat before the soloist’s first entry), it is a lengthy 4'35" before we arrive at the Allegro con spirito section. Too often Ott seems reluctant to sparkle (try the central Allegro vivace assai / leggierissimo section of the slow movement). Those who thrill to the machine-gun octaves of a Horowitz or Hough will be disappointed. Likewise in the Liszt, her cantabile playing (matched by a fine clarinettist) is beguiling but, dextrous as she is, Ott cannot respond to Liszt’s Volante, sempre staccato e spiritoso and Presto requests in quite the same way as Richter (with Kondrashin – Philips) or Freire (with Plasson – Berlin Classics). Rich, full-bodied recorded sound with some hefty balance tweaks along the way.