Shostakovich is getting plenty of exposure in Sydney. Following the SSO’s recent superb reading of his Symphony No. 15, the ACO and Richard Tognetti give us two contrasting works by this great Russian composer.

Closing this diverse program is Rudolf Barshai’s arrangement of the Eighth String Quartet (Chamber Symphony No. 1). The work is suffused with foreboding. It was written 13 years after the composer had been denounced by the Soviet Central Committee, a time when he feared for his life. A three-note motif that recurs aggressively in the third movement is assumed to represent three knocks at the door at 3 am: a sign of Stalin’s secret police.

The main theme of four notes (D, E♭, C, B♭) are the composer’s initials in German notation: D.S.C.H. They recur obsessively throughout. In this harrowing work, the ACO strings give a biting, probing performance, never letting up on the tension from beginning to end.

To open, we hear two shorter string works. The first is a piece by the tragically short-lived Canadian composer Claude Vivier (1948–1983). Writing in the most experimental period of the 20th century, Vivier was a precursor to the Spectral school. His music is built on timbral contrast, sonic effects,...