‘A composition woven out of nerve fibres’ is how Busoni once described his Nocturne symphonique (1912 13) and, with its edgy blend of ambiguous tonality and restrained orchestration and dynamics, the work seems like a study in un ease. One of the ‘satellite’ works for Doktor Faust, it is also one of Busoni’s most compelling orchestral inspirations. Thielemann clearly understands its subtle ebb and flow and secures a richly nuanced account from the Dresden Staatskapelle. Profil’s recording is lush by comparison with its rivals though both Werner Andreas Albert and Gerd Albrecht catch the essence of this unsettling masterpiece.

Thielemann understands his Pfitzner, too, and is a long-standing champion of his music (not without controversy in Germany, given the composer’s opportunistic relationship with the Nazis). He and Tzimon Barto make a good case for the Piano Concerto, composed in 1922 and dedicated to Fritz Busch, who premiered it in Dresden with Walter Gieseking (there is an archival recording of a 1943 Hamburg recording by Gieseking in circulation). Pfitzner later erased the dedication as part of his cosying up to the Nazi regime but the music, of course, remains untainted by its creator’s later political or personal failings. The Concerto is a curious work, conventionally late-Romantic harmonically but less orthodox in structure, with pairs of dovetailed movements: a large-scale Pomphaft mit Kraft und Schwung (with shades of Rachmaninov) coupled with a brief, playful scherzo, succeeded by slow movement and finale in which the expressive model swings round to Schumann. Usually played in abridged form (as by Banfield), at 42 uncut minutes here it is prolix, but Barto is equal to its challenges, kicking its reputation for unplayability into touch. So had Harden previously; but the latter’s piano is hard in tone and Marco Polo’s sound harsh and fierce by comparison.

The Busoni and Pfitzner works were played live together in September 2011 while Reger’s A Romantic Suite (1912) was performed three months earlier. I am ashamed to say that I did not know Reger’s suite well beforehand but have enjoyed becoming familiar in this beautifully prepared account. My only quibble about this excellent issue is its duration: removing the 75-second applause from the Concerto and Suite (the Busoni carries none) would have brought the playing time under 80 minutes to fit on one disc. Better still, they could have made use of the yawning 27- and 50 minute gaps with more Busoni, Pfitzner and Reger.