Boldly played and recorded, Hyperion’s Shostakovich cycle has been winning golden opinions. The individual performances might not efface memories of the classic Borodin and Fitzwilliam LPs of the past but it is gratifying to find a younger Russian group so proficient in repertoire that sometimes seems to exert a stronger allure in the West.

The present instalment offers many moments of quiet beauty and acidic intensity, both familiar components of the ensemble’s wholehearted style; the latter is only occasionally too much of a good thing. At the same time, No 12 is typical of the series in that, for me at least, the playing fails to penetrate to the very heart of the work. Tempi are a little faster than in the famous (second) Borodin version from 1981 (last available on BMG Melodiya and temporarily out of the catalogue) and its Schnittke-like emotional arc feels constrained, as if the drama were being enacted at one remove. For all the hyper-emotionalism on offer, the effect remains oddly lightweight, with those final reiterated assertions of D flat major almost neo-classical in tone, less emotive than they can (should?) be. The musicians seem more at home with the elusive pallor of No 14, placed second on the disc. And in the Allegretto furioso of No 10, their deliberate pacing and slow build convey in full measure the composer’s gnawing insecurity and anger, albeit at the expense of perfect intonation.

Hyperion’s booklet notes have proved controversial in some quarters, but anyone collecting this viscerally involving if unrefined cycle will know what to expect.