Four of the six finalists in the cello discipline of the 16th Tchaikovsky Competition were good enough to have walked away with first prize, even if it was clear why the judges opted for the American Zlatomir Fung (pictured right). In every sense, in St Petersburg we were a long way from the respective drama and controversy of the violin and piano finals taking place in Moscow. The result reflected it. The winner chose not a showpiece (as far as any cello concerto can be such), but a simmering, unsettling and predominantly quiet work – the second of Shostakovich’s concertos. At the concert hall named after the same composer, the audience appreciated Fung’s risky choice and was visibly moved by a performance that proved there wasn’t so much risk after all.