The Soviet authorities called it an “optimistic tragedy”. Shostakovich simply called it his Tenth Symphony. Dark, tense, packed with secret messages and featuring a hair-raising musical portrait of Stalin himself; what’s certain is that Shostakovich’s Tenth is one of the mightiest of 20th-century symphonies – one of those pieces that you simply have to hear live. Critics have described the conductor Daniel Raiskin as “stunningly good”, so who better to probe Shostakovich’s secrets – and to partner the distinguished British violinist Jennifer Pike in Britain’s favourite romantic violin concerto? First though, Raiskin and this outstanding Czech orchestra share a gift from home: the woodland magic (and musical mischief) of Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen… “Superbly assured.” Gramophone on Jennifer Pike