A superb performance with excellent sound makes this a benchmark recording and my top CD choice of the year. Shostakovich fans ignore this release at their peril ! (MusicWeb) "A searing new live account by Rostropovich, well-recorded and unmissable (he) has something unique to say about this work, transcending any doubts about his conducting... The finale is articulated with tremendous cut and thrust, the sheer heft of the strings mightily impressive... The brass project powerfully as they do in real life, the woodwind audibly composed of individual stylists, the strings sound virile. It's all here... Play loud or not at all." (Gramophone)