It is good to have another version of Liszt's Dante Symphony competing for attention in this his centenary year, not least since the new version is of such quality. Conlon's recent performance with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on Erato was responsive to the shifting moods, but rather soft-centered; Lopez-Cobos (Decca) was more splendid, especially with the magnificent opening movement. However, Gyorgy Lehel is his match in this apocalyptic vision, and he has the deftness of touch to make the ''Purgatorio'' movement seem more like a worthy partner to the opening ''Inferno'' than it does in some other hands. The opening of the ''Inferno'' here is a dreadful blast from the pit (the Budapest orchestra's brass are tremendous); and the tension which Lehel generates and holds with his players sustains the movement through all its episodes. The andante amoroso passage is done with a grace that does not exclude an exquisite sadness; and the succeeding return to the Tempo primo has a savage energy to the rhythms unmatched in the other recorded performances. The concluding ''Magnificat'' (Lehel, like Lopez-Cobos, includes both endings) is sung with an agreeably resinous tang in the chorus voices, and this gives the music a particular edge which rescues it from any risk of the sanctimonious.
Liszt was doubtless wise to accept Wagner's advice not to set ''Paradiso'' as his concluding movement: it is difficult to see what could have crowned this ''Magnificat'', which though not the most intense of Liszt's religious settings does serve to conclude the symphony effectively. The Dante Symphony is still too little known: this splendid new recording, admirably detailed and rich in tone in both LP and CD versions, should help to correct the situation.'