Gianandrea Noseda continues his idiomatic-sounding LSO Shostakovich cycle with another generous pairing. Conventionally paced, the Ninth’s opening Allegro retains a pointedly ‘classical’ element even after its repeated exposition. The composer seems to have wanted the Moderato second movement to move faster than it does here but the conductor is scarcely alone in holding back. His Presto is bang on target, thrillingly negotiated in every department. Noseda isn’t the kind of musician to let accidents happen and all that’s lacking in the remaining movements is that ultimate sense of danger. The finale will disappoint only if you’re expecting tension to be ratcheted up to the very end. Here we get a switchback ride of light and shade. At the grandiloquent circus climax the brass are sometimes swamped by the strings even when they emulate the hefty rasp of Russian-Soviet ensembles (Noseda spent a decade as principal guest conductor at Valery Gergiev’s Mariinsky Theatre). This may be a conscious choice as the mood lightens thereafter, the ending almost ‘classical’ – at least as Prokofiev understood the term. The Barbican Hall is never the easiest venue in which to record and the results are as good as any I’ve heard from this source.

The Tenth is one of the Shostakovich symphonies that has always fared well in the West and the LSO play it with commitment and finesse. The first movement boasts original touches of withdrawn frostiness from the strings as well as occasional pockets of keenly italicised phrasing and articulation that risk dissipating the longer line. The Scherzo has momentum without quite plumbing the depths of terror and panic projected by Herbert von Karajan in Moscow (Melodiya, 7/09) or, in much higher fi, by Vasily Petrenko in Liverpool (Naxos, 1/11). Noseda keeps the third movement deft, quizzical and a little more circumspect than usual, at least until the music erupts in frustrated (and closely miked) self-assertion. The finale is expertly delivered rather than wildly over the top. Hyperactive podium manner notwithstanding, Noseda offers us carefully regulated abandon.

As is usual with LSO Live, applause and audience noise have been surgically removed. The booklet includes the written material and player lists available (free of charge) at the associated public performances. Some own-label productions seem no more than a souvenir of an evening out. This one offers richer rewards. Both symphonies are successful, the Ninth conspicuously so even in a crowded field.