Here are immensely satisfying accounts of two of the monuments of mid­20th­century piano literature. Like many of his generation‚ the young Frenchman François­Frédéric Guy has the full technical armoury needed to do justice to Prokofiev’s extravagant demands. He takes the Sixth Sonata’s Allegretto second movement at almost precisely Richter’s tempo (that is‚ shockingly fast) and makes little or no compromise in the vertiginous triplets of the finale of No 8. Unlike most‚ he shows an equally profound insight into the introspective depths of these magnificent sonatas and an almost unerring grasp of their large­scale structure. Only in the difficult lead­back to the main theme in the first movement of the Eighth Sonata – from around 8'20" – does he let the flow lapse through excessive holding back. There would be enough space on the disc for the Seventh Sonata as well‚ which is what several recent releases have offered‚ including the two­disc Richter instalment in Philips’ Great Pianists of the 20th Century series. As this seems‚ remarkably‚ to be already deleted I have listed for comparative versions Richter’s classic studio version of the Eighth Sonata and his blistering 1960 Carnegie Hall account of the Sixth‚ recently reissued‚ as well as the teenage Kissin in an astonishing live performance from Japan. Guy is not quite on a par with them‚ but he can certainly be mentioned in the same breath and with honour. The slight lack of focus in the recording and the instrument’s rather boomy bass are richly compensated by his exceptional range of colour and touch.