Symphony No 9 is a deeply powerful composition through which Shostakovich aimed to debunk the ideology and pomp of the bureaucracy. The state response to this calculated provocation, however, was to make the composer’s life almost unbearable, and Shostakovich would not premiere another symphony until the death of his oppressor, Stalin, in 1953.

The symphony is coupled with the introspective Violin Concerto No 1, performed here by Leonidas Kavakos, Gramophone’s Artist of the Year in 2014.