Andrei Gavrilov (b. 1955) was regarded as the last of the great Soviet pianists. Nobody emerged from Russia with such a big sound and formidable attack until Denis Matseuv some 25 years later. Due to his outspokenness, Gavrilov fell foul of the Soviet authorities, and when he arrived in the West in the 1980s, he brought with him a fair bit of political and emotional baggage. He was immediately picked up by EMI: his debut recording (Piano Concertos by Ravel and Prokofiev) was also the debut of 23-year-old Simon Rattle, conducting the LSO.

In the early 1990s Gavrilov signed with DG. To their chagrin, he began by making new recordings of the same repertoire he had already set down for EMI, including Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2, Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit and others. New to his repertoire were a selection of Grieg’s Lyric Pieces, and the Schubert Impromptus, all included here.

Three years into his contract, Gavrilov suffered a crisis of confidence and suddenly walked away from it all. His international career came to an abrupt halt, never to be revived. My understanding is that DG was somewhat relieved to let...