When Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, he was around thirty years old and living in the West, attempting to shed his image as the enfant terrible of Russian music. For pianist Simon Trpčeski, the wild rhythms and harmonics of the composer’s early compositions were dominant as he played the concerto Sunday afternoon with the Palm Beach Symphony under Gerard Schwarz at the Kravis Center.

For sheer digital skill and command, Trpčeski is in a league of his own. No matter how fast the tempo, every note has clarity and is perfectly placed. Sometimes that kind of monster technique does not always fit the music’s profile. At the piano’s first entrance in the Prokofiev concerto, Trpčeski took off at a headlong clip. Volleys of notes were dispatched with aplomb and daredevil flair. There were moments when he lightened his touch and allowed tonal coloring to buttress his pianistic power. Schwarz and the highly responsive orchestra managed to keep up with the soloist.

The Macedonian pianist was at his most eccentric during the theme and variations of the Andantino. Fast sections were frantic, slow episodes stretched to extremes. Despite his quirky phrasing, the Allegro ma non troppo finale played to the pianist’s strengths—pounding power, showmanship, brio and flawless articulation. The totality of his reading proved rather exhausting but, undeniably exciting. Schwarz highlighted Prokofiev’s instrumental hues and felicities. In the finale’s lyrical central section, he drew silken sonority from the strings.