Stenka Razin, 17th-century Cossack leader and one of the legendary figures of Russian folklore, is often compared to Robin Hood, but his story is infinitely more brutal and bloody. Yevgeny Yevtushenko's poem The Execution of Stepan Razin focuses on his gory death - and Shostakovich's setting of it, in the form of a dramatic cantata, piles on the horror.

The BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, the latter combined with the London Symphony Chorus, conjured vividly the atmosphere leading up to the execution, as the crowds bay for Razin's blood. In the solo bass role, which combines descriptive narrative with the words of the hapless hero, Alexander Kisselev was also compelling, suggesting his tenacity and sheer force of character right up to the bitter end - and indeed beyond, for it is Yevtushenko's gruesome description of the way Razin's severed head lives on, eyes diabolical and laughing in loud disdain of the Tsar, that Shostakovich makes most terrifying. It was to this climactic chorus that conductor Vasily Petrenko brought a fearsome control.

His handling of the similarly huge forces in Rachmaninov's The Bells was also finely judged, though the resonant Kisselev outsang tenor Dmitri Voropaev and soprano Elena Goshunova. Petrenko is clearly gifted with musicianship as well as superior stick-technique. He signalled his serious intent with a Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet overture of real emotional depth. Yet another young Russian to watch carefully.