Composer: Prokofiev Compositions: Piano Sonatas Nos 6, 7 & 8 Performers: Steven Osborne p Catalogue Number: Hyperion CDA68298

These are some of Prokofiev’s most frequently recorded keyboard works, and no wonder, for they represent a summit of his achievements. As Christina Guillaumier says in her excellent insert notes: “Stamina and physical strength are tempered with sensitivity to the larger forms underpinning each of the sonatas.” Although Prokofiev did not designate them as “War” sonatas, a conflict-laden story arc is not hard to discern, from the sound of panic which informs the opening bars of the Sixth Sonata through to the scurrying finale of the Eighth.