A fine new coupling of the Scottish and Italian Symphonies from the Prague Philharmonia under Belohlávek, beautifully played and warmly recorded but not one that sweeps the board. They are much recorded works. Peter Maag’s classic Decca account of the Scottish with the LSO is justly celebrated, but probably the finest of all recordings of this lovely symphony is Karajan’s (a DG “Original”) and he includes a masterly Hebrides Overture. But his Italian, although fine, does not match the Scottish in spontaneity. Claus Peter Flor’s newly reissued bargain-price RCA coupling from 1992 certainly does. He is a natural Mendelssohnian and the playing of the Bamberg SO in both works is superb. The one minor drawback is that he does not observe the repeat in the first movment of the Scottish.

Belohlávek observes repeats in both symphonies. His Scottish is an expansive, comparatively weighty reading that’s not helped by the lack of transparency in the recording, made in Prague’s Rudolfinum; though naturally balanced, it gives a more generalised sound in tuttis. Compare the Scherzo with the RCA recording where the horns come through so cleanly and the strings, too, are radiant and clear. Flor’s reading has greater freshness and impetus throughout and in the closing maestoso of the finale his performance really takes off, whereas Belohlávek gets bogged down. Flor is equally impressive in the Italian, although the Czech performance has more zest. But for me the RCA issue is preferable.