Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 was premiered in 1937. It was composed in response to the Soviet denouncement in Pravda of the composer’s most recent works. The symphony was an overwhelming success, returning the composer to favour with the authorities, and remains one of the most performed symphonies of the 20th century. The jaunty, neo-Classical character of Symphony No. 9 was in stark contrast to the ‘victory symphony’ expected by Soviet officialdom. Shostakovich’s startlingly different original draft for the opening of the first movement can be heard on 8.572138.

Benjamin Britten’s unrivalled position in 20th-century music is due in no small part to his operas, and Peter Grimes, set on the Suffolk coastline and first staged in 1945, heralded a new and fruitful era in English opera. Peter Grimes is an outsider who, suspected of cruelty to his apprentices, is hounded to death by his fellow townspeople. Now a staple of concert halls worldwide, the superbly evocative Four Sea Interludes begin peacefully with seagulls crying above the waves at dawn. Sunday Morning is characterised by church bells ringing out, in Moonlight the shore and village street are lit by a magical and majestic moon, and the suite climaxes with an almost unimaginably violent storm scene.