BBC Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra/ Evgeny SvetlanovICA Classics ICAC 5069 *****

This disc documents BBC recordings of two London concerts by the great Russian conductor Evgeny Svetlanov (1928-2002). His 1988 Philharmonia Orchestra account of Alexander Nevsky, the cantata which Prokofiev created from his music for the Eisenstein film of the same name, is atmospherically gripping from beginning to end, with a particularly memorable account of the Battle on the Ice. There's not a sign of musical frailty in his equally fine 2002 performance of Rachmaninov's choral symphony The Bells, given with the BBC Symphony orchestra just two weeks before his death. The team of Russian soloists – Daniil Shtoda, Elena Prokina, and Sergei Leiferkus – is first-rate and the fact that this turned out to be Svetlanov's final concert brings an added poignancy to the funereal finale. url.ie/e6sy