Nicholas Young is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium and since 2009 has been a Young Steinway Artist. Now based in Salzburg, Capricornia is his first recording on which he performs Roy Agnew, Ferruccio Busoni and Elliott Carter. “The internationalism of all three,” says Young, “particularly appealed to my own colourful identity as an Australian with Chinese ancestry, based in Austria.” 

Like Young, Agnew was born in Sydney. His untimely death from septicaemia in 1944 at the age of 53 halted an international career. The two one-movement piano sonatas here are lyrical cascades of colour, firmly modern but still with a toe in the late 19th century. It is to be hoped that Young’s commanding performance will lead to more Agnew in concert programmes. Three works by Busoni anchor us in an earlier era, characterised by a commitment to creating music “that venerated the past but also embraced the language of his day.” The restrained serenity of the Berceuse, is followed by a virtuosic Toccata, followed in turn by Ten Variations on a Prelude of Chopin.

Capricornia concludes with a Piano Sonata by Elliott Carter that takes inspiration from Beethoven’s Op. 111. It’s a thoughtful programme, handled with consummate skill, virtuosity and panache. Like other young Australian virtuosoi (Zubin Kanga, for instance), Young engages with contemporary composers to produce exciting repertoire for the piano.