‘Romantic-nationalist’ is the description usually applied to Mieczysław Karłowicz's only symphony; but in fact the ‘Rebirth’ of its title relates to a spiritual rather than nationalist narrative, and a vaguely Nietzschean programme in which the symphony’s resplendent final blaze of brass and timpani portrays ‘the soul standing triumphant and serene, looking into the world ahead’. We’re not far from the world of Scriabin and the Russian Silver Age, and that’s certainly the impression given by this expansive and atmospheric new recording from Rune Bergmann and his Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.

Clearly, it’s meant as something of a calling card: the booklet contains only brief programme notes but several pages of colour pictures depicting instruments of the orchestra though not, oddly, their players. No matter: the SPSO speaks for itself, and its sound is a fine rebuke to any notion that international orchestral sound is becoming homogenised. There are soft-edged central European horns, bright narrow-bore trumpets and lean but ardent strings; I particularly enjoyed the plangent solo oboe in the first movement’s second group. The recorded sound is warm, with sufficient space to allow bass textures to gather like storm clouds in the symphony’s more turbulent climaxes.

Bergmann’s reading is broad and sometimes episodic; and although (like most recorded interpreters of this symphony) he observes the first-movement repeat, I missed the overall sense of tension and symphonic momentum that you find in Noseda’s BBC Philharmonic account (which omits the repeat). The transition from scherzo to finale felt a little hesitant; elsewhere, however, there’s no shortage of passion. It’s just a pity that this disc includes no coupling; Naxos and Chandos both offer music from Bianca de Molena. At 46 minutes, the symphony alone is unarguably short measure.