Danny Driver - Balakirev: Piano Sonata & other works

Pianist Danny Driver has garnered overwhelming critical praise � and a Gramophone award nomination � for his previous discs for Hyperion. His authoritative and virtuosic performances of York Bowen and CPE Bach have placed him firmly in the �one to watch� category. For his latest disc, he turns to one of the giants of the Russian piano world.This disc looks beyond the ubiquitous Islamey to some of Balakirev�s most important works � which are curiously underrepresented on disc. The Piano Sonata in B flat minor is a major achievement of the period and one quite unlike any contemporary large-scale piano composition. Its absence from the standard repertoire is unfortunate, as it is fully worthy of such a place. Undoubtedly this marvellous recording will provoke a reappraisal.