WAIT until you hear this.

Just months after the sensational Rite Of Spring by Francois-Xavier Roth's period band, Les Siecles Live, here comes a juggernaut, a genuine bulldozer of a Rite by the Basel Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies in another thrilling, hair-raising account of Stravinsky's blockbuster. Russell Davies is an American-born legend, famed for his inspiring of other conductors and his work with avant-garde leaders including Cage, Berio, Henze, Glass and Nyman. This Rite will blow you away. Davies's secret lies entirely in his timing: there's no rush, hassle or hustle - it's an extremely well-paced, expansive Rite. And the cumulative tension, force and power which derive from that create a sledgehammer effect. This is the kick in the solar plexus that every Rite addict craves. It's fantastic. It's coupled with a massively percussive account of the four-hand piano version of the work with Davies (a good keyboardist) and his pianist wife Maki Namekawa knocking seven bells out of the music.

Michael Tumelty