Shostakovich's Fifteenth is among the most enigmatic - some might say abstruse - of symphonies. His final work in the genre, its tone is often far from valedictory. Despite moments of quintessential brutality, it predominantly consists of half tones and whispered murmurings.

Then, finally, there are all those notorious quotes scattered throughout. Shostakovich's redeployment of material from his Fourth Symphony - suppressed for most of his lifetime - can be seen as emblematic of his turbulent career as a whole. But what are we to make of his inclusion of chunks of Rossini's William Tell and Wagner's Götterdämmerung? Shostakovich refused to elucidate their meaning and we may never discover their true significance.

Mikhail Pletnev emphasised the score's beauty and subtlety, while keeping its essential mystery intact. Some of it was less than ideal: Pletnev's beat isn't always easy to follow, and there were occasional moments of ragged ensemble in the Wagner quotes in the final movement. Elsewhere, the tone was reflective. The plethora of instrumental solos were all played with nuanced excellence, and the close, as the percussion ticked away over the long-held string chord, was profoundly moving.

The symphony was preceded by Shostakovich's Festive Overture and Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto. The overture, written to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution, was suitably otiose and thrilling. Prokofiev's Concerto was altogether less successful. The soloist was James Tocco, admired in the US for his interpretations of works by Bernstein and John Corigliano, though his Prokofiev left much to be desired. There were occasional inaccuracies, and his playing was anodyne. In compensation, Pletnev's handling of the orchestra was thrillingly incisive, but he failed to forge the performance into a satisfactory whole.