As recordings of Beethoven’s piano sonatas arrive in ever increasing numbers it is helpful to present a distinctive viewpoint.

Angela Hewitt comes to the music with expertise honed in the Baroque repertoire, Bach especially. Her Beethoven rarely sounds susceptible to Dionysiac forces, whether passion or fury.

For the Apollonian virtues of grace and clarity, though, she is an ideal guide.

In this volume the early sonatas Op 2 No 2 and Op 10 No 1 work better than the late Op 110, which is a touch short on visionary depth, though Hewitt’s intellectual grip never wavers.