In the Symphony-Concerto (or Sinfonia concertante – the trilingual booklet is in two minds) Philippe’s perky opening proves deceptive: we are soon led into a world of half-light and reverie in which the close miking of the cellist makes for some audible bow sounds and sharp intakes of breath. Conversely, Christoph Eschenbach and his Frankfurt players seem (or are made to seem) reluctant to intrude beyond a few significant solos. The atmosphere is intimate, remote from the heroics of the Rostropovich tradition or the darker mellifluousness of Gautier Capuçon’s collaboration with Valery Gergiev.

In the complex central movement, where Han Na Chang turns waspish, at times almost hectoring as seconded by Antonio Pappano’s faux-Soviet LSO, the Harmonia Mundi team beguiles us with a fairy-tale lightness of texture. Even the finale’s suitably fleet closing bars lose their oppressive aura with brass interjections and timpani thwacks mixed down. Not the whole story, perhaps; then again many modern exponents promote a loose-limbed, rhapsodic approach and Philippe’s acute sensitivity offers its own rewards. Still in his twenties, his longstanding affection for the composer is never in doubt.

There’s Mendelssohnian delicacy and poise in the coupling too, regular collaborator Tanguy de Williencourt offering tactful rather than clangorous support. As before, some will feel the invention requires a coarser response. The quotation from Maxim Gorky inscribed on the first page of the manuscript is, after all, ‘Man! That has a proud sound.’ Whatever you make of that, the present pairing is wonderfully subtle and distinctive. The music never stops singing.