What an odd if undeniably striking way for the excellent Ural Youth Symphony Orchestra to debut on disc…There interpretative understanding here; Rudin takes the credit for that, the players for following him with such instinct and maturity.

In rejecting excessive languor without entirely short-circuiting [the Thirteenth’s] inconsolable emotional trajectory, Rudin exposes more clearly its motivic workings and unlikely stylistic roots. Tauter speeds and lighter textures are not quite so helpful in the longer, more accessible companion-piece…The present release is certainly worth a punt.