The Russian pianist Andrey Gugnin won the Sydney International Piano Competition in 2016. As part of the prize, he made a recording for Hyperion of works by Shostakovich. The Hyperion label has an impressive roster of great pianists, including Stephen Hough, Stephen Osborne, Marc-André Hamelin and Pavel Kolesnikov.

Gugnin’s award-winning recording justified his inclusion on that distinguished list, and tonight’s concert confirmed it.

Andrey Gugnin. Photo @ Boris Scitar

Like many of today’s pianists, Gugnin has a formidable technique at all dynamic levels. He can brush his hands across the keys to achieve the most delicate tapestry of sound. But his Russian training also gives him the strength to produce great volume and a savage attack, while never bashing the keyboard.

On the contrary, he and the piano work as a team. He shares the modern habit to some extent of micromanaging phrasing and articulation, but always at the service of the music.

Importantly, he is a musician with soul, and one of his great assets is his ability to create an exquisite veiled tone in quiet or lyrical music. You would have to go back to Gilels or Arrau to hear anything...