There can be advantages in playing Classical symphonies with a smallish orchestra, but I was seldom aware of them here. The first movement flows at times rather solidly, and though the conductor knows what he is about and phrases both this and the slow movement in a musicianly way, Michael Tilson Thomas (CBS) sometimes shows a more sophisticated sense of phrasing and projects details with a little more clarity. Thomas is certainly to be preferred in the third and fourth movements; the Scherzo has more ebullience and spring to it, and clarity helps him to find more excitement in the storm climaxes. The Northern Sinfonia's ensemble is good though not quite impeccable in the finale, and enjoyable though their, recording is, I find the ECO version more compelling. But Hickox does provide a fill-up, the Prometheus Overture, which is played with near-brilliance.'