After winning the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow and the Rubinstein Piano competition in Tel Aviv last year, Daniil Trifonov made his recital debut in London in March. If that appearance left a mixed impression, his return for the Southbank Centre's International Piano Series was almost totally positive. At 21, Trifonov is by no means the finished article, but he is an utterly thrilling prospect; technically fearless and with a musical temperament to match, he's willing to take risks, and most of them come off.

Trifonov had chosen a programme to suit his strengths – sonatas by Scriabin and Liszt, followed by Chopin's 24 Preludes Op 28. If the Scriabin, the Second Sonata in G sharp Minor Op 19, showed his ability to spin weightless lines of filigree as the music's melodic outlines dissolved into decoration, the Liszt B minor Sonata was conceived on the boldest, most dramatic terms. Tempi were extreme. Trifonov plunged ferociously into the opening section and never allowed his dramatic grip to slacken. That didn't preclude moments of great beauty – some of the simplest scalic ideas in the slow section had a wonderfully crystalline purity – but it was drive that mattered most in the performance, even though the climaxes in the final fugue were pressed so hard the sound became thin and wiry.

The Chopin Preludes had the same contrasting combination of brilliance and ravishment, sharply focused vignettes contrasted with the panache of a born showman. Trifonov's articulation in some of the faster numbers was breathtaking, but it was also superbly controlled, just as his ability to float the simplest melody showed his awareness of when the music could be left to speak for itself. The first two encores were sharply contrasted, too: a delicate Medtner Fairy Tale was followed by Guido Agosti's transcription of the Infernal Dance from Stravinsky's Firebird, ferociously, swaggeringly delivered.

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