Shostakovich composed his two cello concertos for his close friend Mstislav Rostropovich. The first contribution to this genre was presented in 1959 and immediately won its place in the repertoire as one of the most effective concertos for the cello. The first movement is bitingly satirical and revolves around the vulgar folk song "Birdie, Birdie", while the emotional slow movement contains echoes of Modest Mussorgsky, one of Shostakovich's favourite composers. The finale alternates continuously...