As in his recording of the Fifth Symphony and The Seasons (12/04), which inaugurated his Glazunov cycle, Serebrier instantly conveys his love for this reassuringly warm brand of symphonism, as he conjures the Fourth Symphony’s introduction from a spell of languorous daydreams. He then has the RSNO with him all the way in relishing the ebb and flow of tempo in Glazunov’s subtly constructed first movement, and the catchy Scherzo receives an appropriately rollicking performance.

In both works he and Otaka with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales match one another for affection and understanding, Serebrier albeit tending to stretch phrases a little too much for comfort, while his rival tends not to allow quite enough time for them to register. The majestic slow movement of the Seventh shows this divergence of approach with exceptional clarity. Both orchestras are also well matched, though in spot-check comparisons Otaka’s Welshmen have the edge, as in the opening of that same movement, where the brass deliver a more unified sonority.

Warner’s recording quality is good but not quite as well focused as BIS’s, and especially in loud passages the orchestral sections don’t always quite cohere. I crave a more seductive glow in the slow introduction to the Fourth Symphony’s finale, and more sonic luxury and depth of field to ease me through what is a rather over-ingenious and over-long movement. Both the Warner and the BIS series outclass the by no means negligible Bamberg/Järvi on Orfeo, and either one usefully complements the rougher-hewn Rozhdestvensky accounts from late-Soviet days (Olympia, nla). For those who have invested in the BIS, I would say there is no compelling reason to switch allegiance.