If 1950s modernism brings you out in spots, there's nothing to fear from Mantra. The relatively conventional push-pull of Stockhausen's expressive arcs mixes with what I find, personally, a less appealing atmosphere of quasi-religious ritual; crotales ring changes, like mapping out a liturgy.

it is highly colourful (electronics make the music often seem to come from underwater), theatrical, humorous (Doctor Who enters at track 15) and wise. Captivating.

The electronic ring modulation adds another layer, sometimes just subtly enhancing the piano timbres, sometimes adding a much more astringent edge. This is the first recording on which those effects have been achieved digitally...this is a highly accomplished presentation of one of the landmark pieces in the second half of the 20th century.