Although I would hesitate to grant this flexible and generally well-recorded live performance of the Second Violin Concerto top-of-league status, I enjoyed it enormously, principally because it harks back to the wholesomely romantic approaches of Stern with Bernstein (Sony) and Menuhin with Dorati (Warner or Mercury) and their like. Augustin Dumay digs lustily into the concerto’s opening and Kent Nagano’s big-boned response sings the same language, then, come the second set (at around 2'54"), Dumay eases the pace above a quietly murmuring accompaniment. The effect is of unexpected calmness, disorientation almost, before brass choirs sound the alarm (at 4'08"). The first movement proceeds along similar lines for the duration, never hurrying unduly and with a mixture of reverie and physical abandon (eg at 8'37", where the accelerating tutti makes a great impact).

At the start of the Andante tranquillo second movement both soloist and conductor raise a gentle curtain on a world of fairy-tale, Dumay, a superb player, suggesting infinite sadness, Nagano’s strings suggesting a tender embrace. At bar 42 (4'24" here) some violinists lengthen the crotchet to avoid a feeling of abruptness (Menuhin, Mullova, Gil Shaham etc). Zoltán Székely didn’t at the 1938 premiere (Decca); neither did André Gertler (Supraphon), and nor does Dumay here. At first I wondered whether it was an editing glitch but I’m pretty sure that it isn’t. The finale goes with a real swing – the opening especially – although, as in the first movement, there’s plenty of room for spacious reflection (eg from 2'12").

The Concerto for Orchestra again benefits from Nagano’s penchant for rich textures – richer in fact than on Dutoit’s more transparent recording of the work with same orchestra for Decca, although not everything is crystal clear. Try 4'14" into the first movement, where the woodwinds are partially obscured, then sample, by way of comparison, either Dutoit himself or, even better, Iván Fischer (also Decca) in the same passage. Nagano’s ‘Game of Pairs’ second movement, like Dutoit’s, is rather heavy-handed (switch to Fischer or Reiner on RCA for a livelier approach). In the ‘Elegia’ the viola passage at 3'49" lacks the Hungarian-style edge achieved by Boulez in Chicago (DG), though the Intermezzo and finale lack neither character nor energy.

Summing up, a worthy and often interesting supplement to my current top recommendations: Fischer or Kocsis in the Concerto for Orchestra and Kelemen with Kocsis in the Second Violin Concerto. I’ll certainly want to hang on to it.