To hear this great music played by an orchestra of the calibre of the Berlin Philharmonic is a rare treat indeed. These are all highly polished performances, with particularly delightful accounts of the rustic trios in the minuets of Nos 88 and 89.

Rattle offers Haydn writ large, imposing in concept even in the relatively reserved No 89. The trumpet and timpani interjections in the otherwise hymning slow movement of No 88 are startlingly forceful. Strength of interpretative character and virtuoso playing are in abundance everywhere, no more so than in No 90 - horns ringing in C alto-that ends in a manic Allegro assai.

Rattle exudes the most dashing élan you could imagine. He tingles with meticulous devotion to his task. And he understands how to make Haydn’s music smile. The musical surprises in which Haydn took such delight cannot come as a surprise to Rattle, of course - and yet he gives that impression, with evident pleasure to boot. One can sense that he absolutely loves this music. Haydn is dear to his heart - and to his intellect too