CD: Beethoven: Symphony No 2; Brahms: Symphony No 2

Here is Beethoven as we always used to hear him before the period-instrument bands got their teeth into the symphonies -an account of the Second, recorded live in Amsterdam just last year, that makes a virtue of the weight and depth of tone at the disposal of a great orchestra like the Royal Concertgebouw, and comes up with musical gestures on the same scale. To ears attuned to what historically aware conductors can now extract from this work, Mariss Jansons's approach might seem too generalised, and they will probably find his conducting of Brahms's Second more convincing. Certainly Jansons's dynamic sweep and sure grasp of each musical shape are hugely impressive in the Brahms, while the Concertgebouw fills in all the detail with its usual care and distinctive character.