There is a sense in which this pair of symphonies from Rostropovich’s complete cycle falls between stools. Neither is as brilliantly executed as the best Western versions‚ nor as ineluctably ‘authentic’ (in terms of sonority at least) as the finest Russian ones. Rostropovich offers a beefy brand of emotional legitimacy which can be enormously compelling in the concert hall where his personal charisma compensates for any lack of technical finesse in his conducting. On disc‚ however‚ even such well­intentioned music­making can seem to sit on its hands. There are finer performances of both works. In No 4‚ Kondrashin achieves infinitely greater intensity with his faster tempos (though typically‚ both interpreters were personally close to the composer)‚ while Rattle has all the minutely observed detail you could wish for. In No 8‚ Mravinsky offers unassailable‚ Soviet­style gravitas‚ nicely complemented by Previn’s mid­Atlantic charisma on a recent in­store bargain. While this Ultima ‘twofer’ represents decent value‚ Rostropovich’s powerful musicianship is heard to greater advantage elsewhere in the cycle. Moreover‚ the booklet­notes offer the usual half­truths and dodgy syntax. We are told‚ for instance‚ that the Eighth ‘failed to keep its place in the repertoire of the West‚ because it was thought‚ quite incorrectly‚ to be exclusively related to the events of the Second World War’. And goodness only knows where they got those bizarrely inaccurate track timings for CD 2!