This recording, though brand new, has already acquired an almost unprecedented level of historical significance. This was the orchestra that gave the first performance in the besieged city of Leningrad of Shostakovich’s profoundly moving wartime symphony. Now, sixty years later, they return to the work with which they will always be ineradicably associated in a performance of shattering power and cinematic vividness of imagery.

A virtuoso vehicle in the tradition of Liszt and Rakhmaninov, Svetlanov’s emotionally full-blooded concerto provides the ultimate showcase for internationally renowned pianist Vladimir Ovchinnikov, who has enjoyed a meteoric career since his ground-breaking success in the 1982 Moscow Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. Alternating scintillating showmanship and genuine depth of feeling, this gorgeously seductive work is sure to delight seasoned concertgoers and newcomers alike. The richness and warmth of the Romantic tradition continues in Skryabin’s lush and dramatic Third Symphony, which links the emotionally extrovert world of Tchaikovsky to the renewed sense of spirituality essential to our time. A sonic and musical spectacular in every sense, Maestro Dmitriev and the St Petersburg Symphony wring every last ounce of passion and excitement from these thrilling scores.