As far as I can gather, this piano has an extended frame affording the interpreter a richer tonal palette and greater dynamic range than on most other concert grands. Behzod Abduraimov obviously relishes playing the instrument…He also cuts a dash with a technically brilliant performance of the Rhapsody that really sizzles with excitement…Despite its formidable size, balance between the piano and orchestra is admirably clear with conductor James Gaffigan highlighting lots of interesting and unexpected details.

The headline-grabber is Rachmaninov’s own piano...which, when handled as intelligently as here by the young Uzbek-born, American-trained Behzod Abduraimov, allows for more subtle dialogue with the orchestral lines…The entire CD, distinguished by expert essays on the Swiss connection with Russian culture and by a panoply of photographs, feels like the product of exceptional devotion. Its outcome is new dimensions of understanding, even for those who would already claim to know this repertoire inside out.

Behzod Abduraimov is the ultra-commanding soloist in the Rhapsody...here is a comfortable sense that nothing can possibly go wrong. He is ideally partnered in a work alive with tricky ensemble challenges. The Lucerne Symphony’s performance of the Third Symphony is more urgently committed, proclaiming Rachmaninov’s identity in every bar.