If the first movement of the Ninth seems playful rather than sarcastic, Wigglesworth's fine ear for orchestral sonority always brings out unusual elements in the scoring. His insights make this performance and that of the 12th well worth hearing, and an extremely viable alternative to the complete cycles that are delivered under the direction of Kitajenko, Kondrashin or Jansons.

The playing is superbly detailed and the warm orchestral sound brings the Mahlerian similarities very much to the fore.

Wigglesworth’s long view of where the symphony is heading is a crucial component of this interpretation, but it also embraces a kaleidoscopic variety of character, be it the icy funeral march at the start of the finale, the passages of stirring brilliance in Shostakovich’s orchestral writing, or those moments where the composer seems to be retreating into his own contemplative thoughts. The emotional force is intense.