When reviewing Andrés Orozco-Estrada’s coupling of Mendelssohn’s First and Third Symphonies (8/14), I concluded by lamenting a certain listlessness in the playing. ‘I think I understand what Orozco-Estrada is getting at,’ is how I put it at the time, going on to recommend Heinz Holliger’s tighter, more keenly animated version (of the Third Symphony).

Happily, this new CD of the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies is very much more impressive, the Italian staking its claim right from the off, with pert woodwinds and lightly expressive strings. Beyond the repeated exposition, Orozco-Estrada cues an exciting development and a sunny recapitulation. The Andante con moto second movement benefits from clearly audible flutes (not something to be taken for granted), while the third movement ebbs and flows in a way that is both intimate and pleasingly understated. The closing Saltarello races along without the least sign of sweat or strain, ‘Mendelssohnian’ in the truest sense of the term.

In the Reformation Orozco-Estrada marks a sense of occasion, especially in the opening Andante with its otherworldly Dresden Amens, while the ensuing Allegro con fuoco is strong and purposeful. The middle movements are by turns breezy and songful, the strings in the latter especially effective. Like Jan Willem de Vriend (Challenge Classics, 3/15), Orozco-Estrada effects a dramatic transition to the finale’s Allegro maestoso by doubling the tempo, which is undeniably exciting; by keeping the tempo steady, however, Zehetmair (MDG, 4/14) and Norrington (Hänssler) effect a more natural transition. I’d say that if it’s the Italian you’re after primarily, then Orozco-Estrada offers a viable option among recent contenders, but in the case of the Reformation there are better versions to be had elsewhere.