A strong case is made for the wayward Reubke, and the Beethoven impresses.

Many are the echoes of Liszt's B minor Sonata in this one by Julius Reubke (1834-58), completed the year before he died. But Liszt's work is cogently argued; Reubke's is not. Though harmonically remarkably advanced, it is loosely constructed: its heroic elements sometimes border on bluster while its rhapsodic ones tend to descend into navel-gazing. Richard Raymond probably wouldn't agree with this assessment. He lavishes attention on the work and indulges its foibles, and in the process he shows that he is no mean pianist and, better still, no mean musician, either. Raymond's attention to the bass-line is an important aspect of his style. You'll also hear it in the chords that open Beethoven's sonata, but he doesn't drive the music relentlessly. He is flexible with the rhythm, thus revealing the many contrasts that make up the drama of the first movement. The introduction, if not ideally hushed, is nevertheless a gravely played Adagio molto, as it ought to be. Raymond doesn't ease into the finale as enchantingly as Emil Gilels (and isn't punctilious enough about the pedal markings) but he makes it a powerful concluding statement without bashing out the notes, particularly in the C minor section that is full of accented octaves. Very good indeed, and the disc is rounded off with a performance of the Variations that recognises its chuckling good humour. The recording is fuller-toned for Reubke than Beethoven but this is no deterrent.

-- Gramophone [5/2004]