Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881-1950), the quiet man of Russian-Soviet music, is back. And all credit to Alto for making available these crucial (reputedly self-financed) Svetlanov recordings, left stranded when Olympia ceased to trade. Written when the composer was dying of cancer, No 27 is one of his most deceptive pieces. Extreme simplicity of idiom goes hand in hand with a depth of feeling that doesn’t necessarily reveal itself on first hearing. To initiates, Svetlanov’s handling of the slow movement will be almost unbearably poignant notwithstanding the fraying of his once-great orchestra in the post-Soviet period. The finale is (not quite convincingly) positive in tone. Whether this represents compliance with Zhdanov’s notorious 1948 strictures, an academic attempt to write a symphonic denouement à la Glazunov, or Myaskovsky’s belief in an afterlife or in a future spring for the Russian people, is impossible to say. Once you’ve heard Svetlanov shape the work’s many aspirational string lines you probably won’t return to Polyansky’s technically superior version (Chandos, 5/03). The recording is no great shakes, though. Additional filtering has been applied, making low woodwind solos woozier than ever in the inconsistent acoustic. The Fifteenth fares better in this respect. It’s a substantial utterance if rather less compelling, the slow movement apart. Recommended.