Having appointed Johannes Klumpp their new artistic director, the Heidelberger Sinfoniker, founded in 1993 by Thomas Fey, now undertake to complete in chronological order the Haydn symphony cycle he inaugurated. So, at just about the survey’s three-quarter point, Vol 25 takes in some of the very earliest symphonies. Klumpp barely stints on the style and approach taken under his predecessor, with tempos calculated to squeeze every last drop of drama from fast movements, and contrasts of dynamic and texture played for all their worth. If you thought these early symphonies were only of historical interest, Klumpp and the Heidelbergers would have you think again.

They may not yet display the melodic imperative or folksy wit of later works but each of the five symphonies here is as tautly constructed as any of their larger counterparts, full of the fizzing energy and delight in orchestral effects that became trademarks of Haydn’s symphonic language. Perhaps the most remarkable among them is No 2, all three movements through-composed (without repeated sections) and over and done with in eight minutes flat. The central Andante shows how a piece written in only two parts (violins in unison against violas and basses in octaves) makes perfect sense without the intrusion of a harpsichord.

Klumpp has little recourse to Fey’s touches of eccentricity. Odd passing effects such as the swoops and slides in the closing Tempo di menuet of No 18 aren’t overdone, and this and the Minuet in No 20 (the only four-movement work here) remain within a believable tempo. The acoustic of Palatin Wiesloch (apparently a conference and cultural centre just south of Heidelberg) is generous without compromising linear clarity, and enables horns to bray out joyously.

In terms of the Haydn symphony cycles currently under way, this and Giovanni Antonini’s series, on period instruments for Alpha, are the only game in town. The only overlap is with No 19, on Antonini’s Vol 5. But for these very early symphonies, played with such evident love and belief that Klumpp (or someone) can be heard singing along in places, this volume now knocks the competition aside.