Mikhail Pletnev delivers a strongly compelling and often illuminating interpretation of Shostakovich's final symphony. Whereas most conductors opt merely for the sardonic and satirical in the first movement's 'toyshop in a cloudless sky', Pletnev emphasises the music's menacing subtext, the muffled trumpet quotations from Rossini's William Tell Overture sounding particularly grim. He maintains a grip over the pregnant pauses and fragmentary lines of the slow movement, the doom-laden atmosphere intensified by some expressive and anguished solo cello playing... the beautifully paced Finale builds up to a very effective and powerful climax...