The recently appointed Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons, continues his series of the ‘war symphonies’ of Shostakovich in this double-disc set. The Tenth appeared a year ago to great acclaim, and the Sixth and Seventh are slated for future release. This series of symphonies is the pinnacle of Shostakovich’s achievement in the form, reputedly mapping the composer’s anxiety, anger and subversion during the fraught years of war and Stalin’s rule. Valery Gergiev recorded much the same selection with the Kirov (Mariinsky) Orchestra in the early 2000s for Philips (leaving out the post-war Tenth, arguably the best, and adding the experimental pre-war Fourth). That set makes for an interesting comparison.

The Boston Symphony is known for its polish, and it is an aural pleasure to revisit their beautifully upholstered, well recorded sound. Nelsons has galvanised these musicians.Dramatic moments like the descending brass motifs in the Eighth’s third movement absolutely tell. Quirky, pointed phrasing from the clarinet brings Shostakovich the clown to life in the central movement of the Ninth, and the Fifth’s first movement climax carries plenty of weight. The passage that follows, with flute and horn mingling in gentle counterpoint, is as...