In 1986 Kiev-born Roman Kofman made an exceptional recording of Valentin Silvestrov’s Fifth Symphony (Melodiya, 4/98 – nla). Working in 2004 he seems a more cautious interpreter, reluctant to impose his own ideas to the extent of a Wigglesworth, let alone a Bernstein. While that may be no bad thing in theory, Shostakovich’s rhetoric is not always empowered here with sufficient clout to banish doubts about the music’s substance; that overblown ending in particular falls rather flat.

The main attraction would be appear to be sonic. Hybrid SACDs are two-a-penny these days. What’s unusual about this one is that Dabringhaus’s idea of surround sound is a 2+2+2 set-up for which you’ll need an extra pair of speakers placed above your front set. The notion is to restore the dimension of height to the sound picture so that, as at a concert, some instrumental contributions will appear to come from raised portions of the platform. Another alleged effect is that the sound stage should feel more resilient, the listener’s fixed position in the listening room becoming less crucial. I will leave it to the audio editor to test these claims.

The perspectives afforded by the Leningrad itself, not least the first movement’s notorious invasion segment, would appear well suited to the experiment. The booklet-note gets Pierre Monteux’s name wrong but does explain that the conductor places auxiliary brass players behind the listener. Perhaps all this will stimulate audiophiles. It’s unlikely to mask the fact that the music-making falls short of the best.