[Bebbington] plays with tremendous authority, supported by a vivid recording with a appropriately wide dynamic range…Whatever his passions, private or public, Bax does what all worthwhile composers do: he keeps springing surprises.

Cohen’s four Russian Impressions prove a charming find, the first two especially. Bebbington lends them atmosphere and deftly affectionate advocacy…However, the real meat comes with the large-scale [Bax] Sonata in E flat…With his rock-solid technical armoury and supreme composure, Bebbington brings thrilling power and intoxicating poetry to Bax’s turbulent, ruggedly beautiful inspiration.

[Sonata in E-flat] Bebbington catches the music’s anger and grief superbly in playing of enormous range and power. The passacaglia In the Night (1914) is beautifully paced, a terrific nocturne that deserves to stand with the best evocations of the night. Bebbington’s performance is idiomatically spot-on, as is that of Legend. First-rate sound completes this splendid release.

One for both the dedicated Bax collector and the yet-to-be converted.

Bebbington delivers it all, unsparing of himself and us, from the stygian bass to the hints of reconciliation and triumph that emerge in the finale.