In the case of the Britten Cello Symphony, comparisons will naturally be drawn with the now-legendary commercial recording Rostropovich and the composer made for Decca, while the catalogue boasts an excitingly volatile Russian Disc version of the Elgar with Rostropovich and Rozhdestvensky from April 1964. Let me deal with the Elgar first. This is a less impulsive, more considered display than that later account, and Rakhlin’s accompaniment is sleepier and less idiomatic than Rozhdestvensky’s (with the same band). None the less, Rostropovich himself is as commanding and generous in spirit as ever and his ravishing tone is tolerably well captured in what is a somewhat subfusc 1958 sound picture.
As on EMI’s extensive recent set (5/97), the transfer of the Britten derives from a mono master. The incomparably more vivid stereo Russian Disc version isn’t available at present – a pity, for one wants to hear so many details in a score which, more than almost any other concertante work written this century, is truly a meeting of minds (“an argument on equal terms, rather than just a pure background for the orchestra”, as Britten himself once described it). The actual performance was, of course, the world premiere and it remains a thrilling experience, with dedicatee Rostropovich on inspirationally intense form and the Moscow PO responding to their distinguished guest with commitment and fine concentration. Inevitably, there are details that are tidier in the marvellous studio recording of a few months later (that said, co-ordination in the Scherzo is most impressive), but the cogency and grip on show are tremendous and these artists distil an overwhelming sense of homecoming in the closing pages. If you’ve never heard this famous document, don’t hesitate now.'