In terms of musical imagination, instrumental colour and technical flair, few pianists can match Arcadi Volodos. When his debut album—a programme of virtuoso piano transcriptions—appeared in 1997, it included his own electrifying elaboration on Mozart’s Turkish March (the finale of his A major Piano Sonata, K331, 1784), an arrangement subsequently taken up by others, notably Yuja Wang. Volodos’ virtuoso credentials were reinforced by his second recording, Live at Carnegie Hall (1999), which also revealed a deeply poetic musicianship, further confirmed by subsequent albums including Volodos in Vienna (2010). Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1972, Volodos first studied voice—both his parents were singers—and only worked seriously at the piano from his midteens. After stints in Moscow and Paris, he moved to Madrid to work with Dmitri Bashkirov, and was soon recognised by colleagues and music lovers alike as a pianist of unique gifts. His unrivalled prestidigitation in virtuoso showpieces, reflective refinement in Brahms, miraculous control in Mompou, evanescent sonorities in Scriabin and luminous tonal glow and expressive intensity in music from Bach to Rachmaninoff add up to one of the most compelling pianists of his time.