I have only listed two of the 18 currently available alternatives of Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto (1959) as they are perhaps among the best of them, and both – like this newcomer – have a personal connection with the composer. Schiff’s is coupled most logically with the fine Second with, as here, the composer’s son Maxim conducting; that by Rostropovich, who premiered the work and was a longtime friend of the composer, with the two piano concertos. The special qualities that infuse every bar of the latter make it an extremely hard act to follow, for all that it is now 30-odd years old, while the all-round excellence of Schiff’s interpretation makes it to my mind the finest modern one available (though even this is now 11 years old). The present issue is of a live performance (made in concert in November 1996) and while the sound is nicely captured, the audience quiet and there exists a certain electricity one expects from a live account, overall neither the playing nor the recording quality really match the rivals listed above. Barta’s tone is a touch thin in the higher registers though he is certainly nimble enough, often faster than Rostropovich, though not quite as fleet as Schiff.
The four-movement suite from the The Golden Age (1930) is not otherwise available, though there are recordings of the complete ballet and the later composite suites recycled from his early stage works. The present suite receives a fine and high-spirited performance, though one cannot pretend it makes as effective a coupling on its own as those of the versions listed (or the Fifth Symphony, which apparently completed the concert). At full price and at 46 minutes’ duration, this is not a bargain, so unless you are a devoted Jiri Barta fan, stick to Rostropovich or Schiff.'