They are both angry works, but whereas the Second gives us unbridled fury, the Sixth is etched on a canvas of more directed, but no less intense, rage and angst. This is not music for the faint of heart. Both symphonies are relentless in their intensity, and the moments of quiet feel like we’re waiting for a bomb to explode. It’s not the music of a placid soul, and it certainly isn’t dull.

The composer is clearly totally in charge of the performances. He seems to achieve his exact requirements with these highly proficient if little known orchestras, aided by fine and clear archival recordings. Documentation is, as usual with Toccata, not only valuable but also exemplary.

Tabakov’s two-movement No.2 is intense, angst-ridden, and cinematic in some respects, its initial isolation turning into an explosive release of energy in what follows...At twice the length, fifty minutes, the four-movement “tragic” Sixth Symphony opens as if a coiled-up spring has been set in motion (a bit like Nielsen’s Third).