The evergreen Second Concerto is gorgeously rich, with just the right amount of gooeyness. Sudbin captures the sheer weight of emotion in this work…Throughout, Sudbin creates a beautifully rounded tone – each show-stopping tune is as good as the last. Sudbin shapes the elongated melodic lines of the Third Concerto with craftsmanship, retaining precision as themes become interwoven.

In the Concerto No 2, Sudbin takes a relatively quick line through the score, almost as fast as Hough (Hyperion) in the opening Moderato and over a minute swifter in that movement than Tharaud’s mightily impressive Erato account. His Adagio sostenuto is significantly fleeter than these two exemplary rivals but still makes the movement sing as it should. In the finale, and throughout No 3, Sudbin is less markedly different in matters of tempo but, more importantly, communicates his vision of the works with clarity and persuasiveness. These are accounts that compare well with as interpretations with any forebears (Hough and Tharaud included) and certainly superior to recent rivals from Buniatishvili and (No 2 only) Giltburg.

Sudbin’s uncompromising, often acerbic take on two Romantic warhorses won’t please everyone (his phrasing borders on the brusque in places), but it throws up some fascinating perspectives. I’ve never been so aware of this music’s kinship with Prokofiev and Shostakovich, and in particular the percussive, almost neo-Classical elements in some of the solo writing.

There are elegant, intelligent performances from a soloist who’s clearly thought about the music and knows how to get what he wants out of it. In the Second Concerto, Sudbin throws down the gauntlet right at the start with an unusually swift and (as it turns out) in-tempo account of the introductory chords. Unlike so many hot shot virtuosi, he doesn’t try to overwhelm the orchestra when it enters with the first subject–he understands that in this work he accompanies the ensemble as much as the other way around.

The grand finale of Sudbin’s Rachmaninov cycle combines the two best-loved concertos – No. 2 in C minor and No. 3 in D minor. His partners in these are the BBC Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor Sakari Oramo, the perfect companions.