In Vladimir Jurowski’s hands, the first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No 2 is a study in contrasts. He paces the introduction quite broadly – it’s most certainly Adagio molto here – while the Allegro con brio has considerable forward thrust. More to the point, he makes the most of the music’s dynamic juxtapositions. Fortissimos are powerfully intense, sforzandos pack a punch and the piano markings are meticulously observed. Thus, the second theme (at 3'35") begins like a softly hummed fanfare, then four bars later suddenly blares out in mischievous brilliance.

I found the Larghetto a bit cool at first – a sense amplified perhaps by the strings’ avoidance of vibrato as well as Jurowski’s let’s-keep-it-moving tempo – but then the minor section (at 3'30") is so sensitively shaded and the movement’s climax so fervent (at 5'03") that I felt myself entirely swept away. Indeed, Jurowski elicits a remarkable sound from the Bavarians here, where the increasingly sharp emotional edge somehow never compromises tonal beauty.

The Scherzo, unexpectedly, is quite relaxed – with the tempo for the central Trio section held back even more – and the finale is similarly unhurried, which allows not only for delectable clarity but also gives Jurowski the breathing room to move seamlessly from buffo ebullience to lyrical warmth. The live recording is quite good, although in terms of balance the winds and horns sound a bit recessed.

The album opens with Brett Dean’s Testament, a work written in 2002 for the viola section of the Berlin Philharmonic (of which Dean was once a member), although here Jurowski and the BSO play the 2008 orchestral version. Texture is key in much of Dean’s music, and in this work it’s the scratching of quill on parchment (specifically Beethoven’s quill as he wrote his Heiligenstadt Testament) that’s most striking – although I find it even more effective in the original 12-viola version, recorded by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins (BIS, 1/14). As he did in the Beethoven, Jurowski wrings quite a bit of drama from Dean’s score, too. The aspirational moments are particularly moving (listen, say, at 2'41"), and in the latter part of the piece, the sense of Beethoven’s inner struggles is powerfully realised (starting at 7'48").

At 46 minutes, it feels like half a programme (and probably was), but if you can look past that, it’s quite a satisfying half.