Prokofiev’s Sonata for two violins is one of his hardest nuts to crack. Written to commission in 1932, it is certainly not short of attractive, characterful ideas. But no sooner do these appear than they yield the floor to others, leaving an ultimate impression of unfulfilled potential and of the whole being less than the sum of its parts. At best, this feels like a dry run for the magnificent Sonata No 1 for violin and piano, composed a decade later and to the same slow-fast-slow-fast, four-movement template, but with far greater focus and dramatic profile.

At least Julia Fischer and Kirill Troussov give the 15-minute piece every chance to make its mark. They embrace the high metabolic rate of its invention and make light of its demands on intonation and agility. If there’s a more accomplished version out there, I have yet to hear it, and I’ve certainly encountered several that fall far short.

The Shostakovich arrangements are given all the soupiness and knees-up energy they invite. Still, I struggle to see the point of this half-length programme, with no accompanying notes to provide context on a half-length, expressively elusive sonata and some tasty bonbons. For a truly illuminating and collectable coupling, why not put the Prokofiev alongside the Weinberg two-violin Sonata, for instance; or the Bartók Solo Sonata; or both?