The definition and dynamism that Thomas Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra have been bringing to their cycle of Schubert symphonies are qualities that are radiantly replicated in these performances of the First and Second. The music exhibits all the exuberance and confidence of youth – Schubert was only 16 when he wrote the First Symphony, 18 when he finished the Second – combined with respectful acknowledgements to the dominating symphonic force of the day, Beethoven.

The fact that Schubert knew the Eroica Symphony and had the melody of its finale in the back or forefront of his mind is scarcely open to question when you hear the theme he introduces as the second subject of the First Symphony’s opening movement: the similarities between the two can be no mere accident but in Schubert’s hands the melody and its accompaniment acquire a disarming jauntiness, replacing any weighty Beethovenian implications with a healthy jeu d’esprit. Dausgaard and his orchestra fully attune themselves to this teenage Schubertian world: the emotional abysses that were to daunt Schubert later on are as yet unenvisaged, with even the Andante movement reflecting serenity rather than angst. The Second Symphony is a similar delight, especially in this performance which buoys up the rhythms, artlessly etches in the scintillating instrumental detail, finds a singing mellifluousness for the lyricism and reveals the music in all its sparkling invention and innocence. The operatic fragments complement the symphonies ideally, making this a first-rate companion to the Swedish CO’s discs of Symphonies Nos 3 9.