Complete orchestral works, vol 2

“Dausgaard's clear-headed and carefully sculpted phrasing and the orchestra's virtuoso performances penetrate to the music's core, as in the terse and tight-muscled first movement of Symphony No. 4 ... Dausgaard leads a deliciously stern performance of the Coriolan overture, a fine bonus on this beautifully recorded disc. Even if you have other "downsized" Beethoven recordings, you should hear this one."

Not only are the recordings excellent — clear, fresh, beautifully balanced; the performances, too, are exceptionally fine. Thomas Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra have obviously learned lessons from the period-instrument innovators (do I hear 19th-century timpani?), but there´s nothing mannered or wilfully contentious about the results. Instead there´s abundant life, quick-witted musical intelligence, inwardly charged expression, scintillating precision, humour and a sense of awe before Beethoven´s more startling inspirations — yes, they can still startle even today. It´s a long time since I´ve enjoyed a new recording of the Fourth as much as this; clearly there was never any danger of Dausgaard falling for the old idea that No. 4 is a lighter, and therefore lesser symphony. Coriolan is a concise, gripping tragic statement, and if the Fifth Symphony doesn´t always rise to the heights, it still compares well with most modern versions. Worth adding even to an already bulging Beethoven collection.