Mikhail Shilyaev - Sonatenabend: Mozart Beethoven & Berg

Mikhail Shilyaev is a young pianist whose recent recordings have received great critical acclaim. He studied in Moscow and Munich before coming to the UK, where he has won numerous prizes and, in 2007, made his Wigmore Hall recital debut. He is now a junior fellow at London's Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. This CD is a wonderful selection of piano music originating from Vienna, featuring three groundbreaking composers with their own very individual takes on the piano sonata. Beautifully played, this sonata recital is a superbly entertaining account of the works, which show the innovation and the hereditary development of the sonata form, virtuosically exposed by Mozart, romantically matured by Beethoven, and taken to the edge of tonality by Berg. A thoughtfully-devised program, illuminated by some excellent booklet notes and played by a rising star of the piano world, this disc will delight and amuse lovers of classical music.