Shostakovich: The Cello Concertos (LP)

Benefiting from the superb audio quality achieved in the exceptional acoustic of Boston's Symphony Hall, Yo-Yo Ma gives inspired performances of Shostakovich's two cello concertos. The inventive First was written for another friend, Mstislav Rostropovich, a famously demanding piece that was an early landmark in Ma's own career. The far more introspective Second was the composer's 60th-birthday present to himself. Introducing the latter work to the Symphony Hall audience, Ma said, "This piece is as relevant today as it was then. I think Shostakovich's artistic truth was to represent the voice of the voiceless."