The main obstacle here concerns Arte Nova’s thin, dynamically constricted, monochrome sound quality. It makes the presumed concert grand Peter Dmitriev uses sound like a high-quality upright whose upper register needs tuning. And that’s a pity, because these Prokofiev sonata performances seem more consistently satisfying than those included in this series’ far superior-sounding Volume 1. For example, you get an idea of how resourcefully the pianist orchestrates the Fourth sonata central movement’s low-register-dominated textures, and you appreciate both his sure instinct for the composer’s much overlooked lyrical genius in the Second sonata’s Andante and his superb distinction between percussive and sustained articulation in the Sixth sonata’s Allegretto. To my ears, the disc’s only dud (besides the sound) is an underpowered Vivace finale that pales alongside Richter, Chiu, Pogorelich, and other world-class versions. A frustrating release, to say the least.
