If he doesn’t quite make them sound as easy as pie, he certainly delivers them with beguiling nonchalance, a gleaming touch and unflappable clarity, aided and abetted by superb recorded sound. Cool, calm and collected, he does not shrink from making these giant studies – or small tone-poems – sound fun.

From the very first notes of the opening Prelude it’s clear that Beisembayev is utterly in control. Where many a pianist might use rubato as a tool to help negotiate some of the more daunting passages (and perhaps make them more graspable to the ear), there is a real sense that he and he alone is in the driving seat, deciding precisely when, where and how much to move the tempo around in pursuit of his musical vision.