Royal Liverpool PO/Vasily Petrenko Naxos 8.572658****

Shostakovich's First, Fifth and 10th Symphonies (1925, 1937 and 1953) have long been popular favourites. The Sixth and 12th, coupled in the latest instalment of Vasily Petrenko's ongoing survey, are less frequently heard. The Sixth, originally announced as a memorial to Lenin, appeared as an abstract work in 1939. The imbalance of its heavy, contemplative opening Largo – nearly twice the combined length of the two lighter movements that follow – remains problematic. The 12th, celebrating the October Revolution (and subtitled The Year 1917) was premiered in 1961 and carries a dedication to Lenin. By comparison, it sounds like expertly dutiful agitprop. Petrenko and his Liverpool players take the various moods and modes – from brooding and frivolous to finely crafted, official-sounding rhetoric – in their stride. See url.ie/af6o