[Zimerman’s] is a very wise, very seasoned, poetic take on it and from his very first solo is possessed of a thoughtful ‘inwardness’. He finds the heartache and disillusionment between the notes and conveys a hypnotic ‘out of body’ feeling in its many moments of reflection. Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra shroud him in opulence, the grand logic of it all beautifully conveyed.

Zimerman’s resolutely ‘classical’ approach to phrasing and textures ensures that every detail of his late friend’s technical skill registers, from the almost Schubertian grace with which he shapes his opening solo to the clarity which he brings to the rhythmically complex and almost contrapuntal passages in The Masque: one senses that he’s mindful of Bernstein’s desire to be remembered as a ‘serious’ composer rather than a Broadway Baby, and is taking this opportunity to set the record straight.

Even considering Bernstein’s own recordings of the work, this performance must have a special place. The BPO plays with great subtlety and flexibility – Rattle seems to have opened the players out to a whole new repertoire in which they can be convincing.