Cristian Măcelaru is in his final season as Chief Conductor of Cologne’s WDR Symphony. They’ve released a number of albums on Linn, the latest of which is a bumper offering of Rachmaninov’s three symphonies. It’s not clear from the booklet, but given the recording dates and the fact it’s a radio orchestra, these were probably taped in concert and licensed to Linn. The recorded sound is quite bass heavy – it benefits from cranking up the volume considerably – but even this can’t disguise occasional thinness to the string tone, especially when compared with other cycles recorded in concert, such as Valery Gergiev and the LSO (LSO Live) and Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra (DG).

The performances are polished, if not always the most exciting. Măcelaru’s vision of the First Symphony lacks excitement and his tempos can sag – the Larghetto is ponderous and the con fuoco of the finale never really catches fire, especially when heard in comparison to Gergiev (A/16).

The Second fares better. After the brooding Largo, the Allegro moderato is well paced, Măcelaru including the exposition repeat (unlike the expansive Nézet-Séguin – 8/23). The Allegro molto second movement moves with real impetus, its central Moderato section not giving way to mawkishness. The Adagio is tender but clear-eyed; Nézet-Séguin is more heart-on-sleeve here, wringing out the emotion, which may not be to everyone’s taste. Măcelaru propels the finale along busily, building to a fine climax, with the WDR brass particularly impressive.

The Third, which can be tricky to bring off in concert, feels cautious in places (the first-movement exposition repeat is again observed), at least until the third movement, where Măcelaru manages the tempo transitions with aplomb and whips up an exciting coda.

Whereas Gergiev and Nézet-Séguin both include the Symphonic Dances (6/12, 2/21) – surely a requirement for a Rachmaninov symphony cycle even if it wasn’t designated as such – Măcelaru adds two symphonic poems. The Isle of the Dead is a real slow-burner – running to nearly 23 minutes – and I’m not convinced the intensity is maintained, but the Caprice bohèmien builds up a nice head of steam in its closing pages.

At the time of writing, the digital downloads look to be competitively priced (£16 for hi-res FLAC files) but on CD there are more competitive cycles out there.