The three sonatas that Prokofiev composed between 1939 and 1944 rank as arguably the finest of solo-piano works. Conceived as a triptych, as Denis Kozhukhin's performances show, they work well on disc in sequence, with the relatively expansive Eighth Sonata providing at least a measure of resolution and repose after the rigours of its predecessors. Kozhukhin, who won the 2010 Queen Elisabeth piano competition in Brussels, is clearly a formidable pianist with strong interpretative ideas to match his fine technique, but the recorded competition in these sonatas is even more formidable. There are versions of all three works by Sviatoslav Richter, both studio made and taken from concerts, while Emil Gilels, who gave the first performance of the Eighth Sonata, also recorded it several times, and the Seventh Sonata featured on the outstanding first disc that Maurizio Pollini made for Deutsche Grammophon in 1971. If Kozhukhin never quite matches those performances he is an impressively reliable guide to the works in his own right.