Goodness knows when the last time was that a French orchestra recorded Nielsen. So it is heartening to see the Montpellier National Orchestra tackling this repertoire, and doing so with evident relish and affection. Silvia Marcovici brings plenty of temperament to the Violin Concerto, as well as excellent technical command (if without the extra glamour of Vengerov). Tempi and transitions are for the most part entirely convincing. However, I would have welcomed a little more sense of exploratory probing. The first movement’s ‘chivalric’ fast music needs to be balanced with uncertainty and vulnerability at times. Both here and in the finale’s prolonged slow introduction Marcovici keeps the expressive pressure rather too uniform, and a little more charm in the main finale theme would not have gone amiss.

The symphony is another mixed bag. A woolly opening chord heralds an under-impelled first movement, and the sound-picture is not entirely coherent. I like Levi’s affectionate phrasing in the slow movement, but overall there are so many finer accounts that it is hardly worth pursuing detailed comparisons.

The rival coupling on Finlandia has much in its favour, and would have even more if it were not at full price. Ari Rasilainen’s gentle account of the symphony has the balance between flow and poetic yielding just right, and I fancy the Norwegian Radio Orchestra’s lean textures might have drawn a nod of recognition and approval from Nielsen himself. Even so, for international quality in the playing, and scarcely less sympathetic understanding, Blomstedt and his San Franciscans still reign supreme.

In the concerto, Henrik Hannisdal shows that it is not necessary to be absolutely on top of the notes in order to get close to the heart of Nielsen. At the other extreme, Nikolaj Znaider’s tremendously virtuosic account is, if anything, a little over-spiced (though I love its free-spiritedness) while Cio-Liang Lin offers an admirable, all-round view and possibly the safest overall recommendation.