John Nelson’s “ideal” in recording the Beethoven symphonies, he explains in the CD booklet, “was to represent the man and the composer in his true nature – with all that was brusque, violent, foul-mouthed, even coarse, in his personality – and at the same time all that can be most purely beautiful, exquisite, elegant in his music”. It’s an admirable goal, certainly, for this dichotomy is a key to the composer’s greatness.

Nelson and his Parisian chamber orchestra score high marks on the elegant side of the equation. To start with, balance between the strings (a relatively small group using vibrato sparingly) and winds is just right, allowing one to savour details that are so often lost. Tempi are consistently well chosen, too. The result is often delightful, particularly in the “lighter” even-numbered symphonies. Perhaps the most successful of all is the Pastoral, whose opening movement conveys a sense of cheery eagerness. The “Scene by the Brook” is truly magical. Note the violins’ quiet trills – as delicately frothy as the bubbles on a real stream’s surface – or the rapt intensity of the orchestra’s soft playing in the passage beginning at 6'29".

On the other side, however, I find these performances to be not nearly brusque, violent nor coarse enough. There’s muscularity – a combination of rhythmic tautness and the orchestra’s lean sonority – and this quality is welcome in, say, the first movement of the Fourth, where the syncopations drive the music forward to exciting effect. But in the Allegro con brio of the Eroica the effect is somehow sleeker, dulling the music’s edge. Similarly, the Funeral March flows too easily, conveying little sense of grief. A propulsive, coherent and characterful account of the finale makes some amends but can hardly redeem the whole. Indeed, there’s a perplexing inconsistency in this set. The opening Allegro of the First is witty and alert while the finale is surprisingly unsmiling; the Seventh is expressively flat almost throughout while the Eighth is at once sophisticated and ebullient, with a lyrically Schubertian Allegretto and an opuluent, warm-hearted minuet.

The Ninth begins well. Nelson’s stark, obstinately Classical interpretation of the first movement builds gradually, generating considerable emotional tension, and the razor-sharp focus of the Scherzo is equally compelling. But the finale is too tame and tidy; aside from a jaunty Alla marcia, it sounds laboured.

Of course no Beethoven symphony cycle will satisfy completely; but even if you limit yourself to historically informed modern-instrument performances, like Nelson’s, there’s a variety of satisfying options available. David Zinman’s set (Arte Nova) has tremendous vitality while underscoring the composer’s unique sense of humour; Mackerras (CfP) deftly balances beauty and brusqueness; Abbado’s Berlin cycle (DG) is stylishly svelte yet still sounds luxurious; and Harnoncourt (Teldec) probes deeply into the music’s detail, finding marvels at every turn.

I hope Ambroisie will release Nelson’s superb recordings of the Sixth and Eighth symphonies separately, as they provide special pleasure.