The Los Angeles Times wrote that Denis Matsuev is a “virtuoso in the tradition of Gilels, Richter, or Horowitz,” and this is a program that demands a master’s exalted pianism. Beethoven’s sonata requires both muscle and dexterity, as well as emotional acuity to negotiate its shifting moods, while Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 is no less expressive, but more technically complex and theatric. There is drama in Prokofiev’s gripping wartime sonata as well—a work noteworthy for its blazing outer movements and lyrical Andante.