Our January Recording of the Month pairs Rachmaninov with Elgar while marking the Harmonia Mundi debut of Vasily Petrenko, one of the most interesting conductors around (Harmonia Mundi HMM902788).

In an excellent sleeve note, the conductor explains the choice of a double bill of two composers who became national treasures, though both ended up out of step with the rising generation. Petrenko has chosen less well-known but representative works, both written in 1913. The Bells, a setting of Edgar Allan Poe, reflects Rachmaninov’s nostalgia for the sounds of the Russian Orthodox Church. Elgar’s Falstaff highlights the composer’s love of Shakespeare, who like him hailed from the Midlands.

The Rachmaninov receives an incandescent performance here, one full of fire and drama, conducted with a natural flexibility that brings out the music’s depths and narrative qualities. Falstaff is quite a contrast, Elgar’s colours burnished bronze as opposed to Rachmaninov’s glitter and gleam. Petrenko holds the attention throughout with supple dynamic shading, neatly judged stops and starts, and a keen sense of musical comedy. Recorded in first-rate sound, this is an outstanding...