The commercial discography of Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto has grown exponentially since the 1980s and for today’s younger players the piece is core repertoire. The same cannot quite be said of its successor, less direct, less obviously impactful and, with a solo part set in the user-unfriendly key of C sharp minor, even harder to play. Neither score holds terrors for Baibe Skride and Andris Nelsons. The conductor previously recorded both concertos with Arabella Steinbacher in 2006 (Orfeo), Skride the A minor, first with Mikko Franck (Sony, 8/06), then in audiovisual format at a Leipzig concert with Nelsons himself (Accentus, 6/20). It was with this same work that conductor and soloist made a joint debut in Symphony Hall, Boston, in 2013, Nelsons having previously directed the orchestra elsewhere. Their reading remains compelling even in a crowded field.

The risk-taking is greatest in the opening Nocturne, slow, desolate and deeply felt. Skride specialises in beautifully spun lyrical lines, only here she varies her vibrato as if to hit each note dead centre with unswerving confidence would be to miss the point. She inflects the music her own way, now disembodied, now fuller-toned. Her slides cannot but suggest weeping. Whether you find this emotive or over the top in a movement marked Moderato, it may be worth remembering that David Oistrakh’s 1956 article for Sovetskaya Muzyka referred to it as an Adagio. The dramatic immediacy and pitch-bending are magnified by a recording that places Skride close to the listener. Baleful low wind detail is also faithfully relayed. Towards the close Nelsons and his orchestra, superb accompanists, give us chinks of silvery light in the dark velvet. The remaining movements are less oppressive in mood without succumbing to the genial efficiency that can sometimes lessen the impact of this conductor’s Shostakovich. While both artists have given quicker renditions of the finale – and the present release is not one in which the soloist reclaims that movement’s opening theme – there is no lack of intensity. The Bostonians are on top form.

Unhurried here, Skride and Nelsons turn somnambulistic in the later concerto. Does it matter that they sacrifice some of Alina Ibragimova’s urgency with Vladimir Jurowski in Moscow (Hyperion, 7/20)? Best forget Oistrakh’s heft and drive under Kondrashin! The ear adjusts and Skride is ready to rough up her lovely sound. Whether she holds the key to its more sardonic Oistrakh-inspired, Odessa-driven element is another matter. These remarkable if not consistently riveting accounts are available for download. Alternatively you can find them in physical format as part of the conductor’s repackaged and expanded Shostakovich series (to be reviewed in June).