Lucas Debargue, the French pianist who came fourth at the 2015 Tchaikovsky competition and has since resisted easy categorisation, turns his attention to George Gershwin on a new Sony album. The record pairs his own take on the Piano Concerto in F and the Preludes with Rhapsody in Blue, and adds a set of original études based on Gershwin's songs, drawing on Debargue's background in jazz clubs to bring fresh perspective to well-worn repertoire.

His Rhapsody in Blue is built on Gershwin's own solo piano arrangement with added improvised cadenzas, while the Piano Concerto is accompanied by the Orchestre de Paris under Elim Chan, with playing likened to André Previn's. The centrepiece is a set of 12 virtuoso études recasting familiar Gershwin songs, including Embraceable You as a rumba, Fascinating Rhythm as a Parisian waltz, and It Ain't Necessarily So as a Bach-style fantasia; the final étude offers 20 variations on Summertime. The review praises the performances as rhythmically alert and full of imaginative flair.