Prokofiev: Piano Music Volume 1 (Incls 'Visions Fugitives')

Prokofiev was Ukrainian, and born into an affluent family, where he was an adored only child.

We tend to forget that it was as a pianist that he first burst onto the international scene, having been a rebellious composition student, graduating at a level that bordered on failure.

Yet his composition of piano music goes back to the age of eleven, when he started a series of 60 short pieces. It was also with his piano works, including the opus 4 pieces on this disc, that he made his Moscow debut as a solo pianist.

Indeed all the works on this disc can be regarded as from his early period, the most 'mature', Visions Fugitives, written in his 26th year.

They are played by an outstanding virtuoso pianist, Eteri Andjaparidze, and for a taste of sheer brilliance, go to band 30, the 14th of the Visions Fugitives.