In an information­crowded world‚ the excitement of discovering Soviet and post­Soviet ‘avant­garde’ music has left little room for a host of less extreme but often equally rewarding composers. Not that I would quite put Mikhail Kollontay (formerly known as Yermolayev) in that category – his Viola Concerto is not a patch on Schnittke’s for boldness or sustained focus‚ and when it runs out of steam it falls back on mildly diverting shock tactics‚ making little capital from its stylistic mixtures. Yet on balance there are enough striking ideas here‚ and enough all­round energy‚ to invite repeated hearings and to make you realise how the piece could win the Composers’ Union’s Shostakovich Prize in 1981‚ the year after its composition. Bashmet gives a characteristically larger­than­life performance. The two Boris Tchaikovsky works draw on more capacious creative reservoirs. The Sinfonietta dates from 1953‚ four years after his graduation from studies with Miaskovsky‚ Shebalin and Shostakovich. And the fruits of that extraordinary schooling are everywhere evident‚ in particular in a tone of dignified yet never stale lyricism. The wan playfulness of Shostakovich’s manner in the early ‘Thaw’ years is there‚ but never shadowed by irony. Rather this music is lit from within by a genuinely touching faith in the continuing vitality of the Russian tradition. Thirty­one years on‚ Tchaikovsky’s Theme and Eight Variations show how impressively he managed to build on his craftsmanlike foundations. His stylistic range has expanded to accommodate a post­Shostakovich‚ post­Britten sound world‚ but without ever losing the sense that every note counts and has to account for its presence. Essentially these are character variations but pushed into realms of threat‚ unearthly calm and hard­won playfulness‚ the transitions being made with remarkable fluency. I could do without the corny final chord‚ but that detracts little from a score of genuine vigour. These are marvellous performances from a conductor and orchestra who worked regularly with Boris Tchaikovsky. Recording quality is reasonable for its time (early 1980s)‚ the booklet­ notes disappointingly primitive.