Pieter Wispelwey is among the top rank of cellists, leading a generation of current performers who are equally impressive on the modern and period cello. He has recently received wide critical praise for his set of the Bach Cello Suites (Evil Penguin, 12/12) – his third recording and certainly his finest.

This offering is slightly more problematic. Technically speaking there’s nothing at all wrong with Wispelwey’s playing. After the bold, brassy opening of Lalo’s Cello Concerto, his mellifluous tone and subtle phrasing make a wistfully expressive contrast in the secondary material, where he plays the lyrical continuation very beautifully indeed. The lovely Intermezzo blossoms quite exquisitely on his bow, while the finale is vibrant and not too heavy. Seikyo Kim proves an understanding accompanist and the playing of the 60-strong Flanders Symphony Orchestra is wonderfully supportive.

Kim and his players again bring a boldly rhythmic opening to the less well-known Second Cello Concerto of SaintSaëns, making it seem almost as fine a work as the First. The slow movement is ravishingly phrased by Wispelwey and the dainty fireworks of the finale are thrown off with élan. Sandwiched between the two main works is the ‘Love Scene’ from Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette, and here Kim and the Flanders orchestra now come completely into their own in Berlioz’s seductive nocturnal atmosphere. This is remarkable playing but I can’t help feeling there’s something missing in Wispelwey’s accounts. Perhaps this is music that needs a riper, more lived-in touch from the soloist, and it’s that which ultimately makes me hesitate.