Markus Stenz's is the kind of lightening-flash, clearly etched interpretation I imagine Roger Norrington wanted over in Stuttgart...There's not much vibrato here, but plenty of portamento...as Mahler asks. Moreover, there's a lucid balance between strings, wind and brass...Both soloists, Michaela Schuster and Christiane Oelze, ooze meaning, as does the choir...there are details here that I will return to constantly for illustration and enlightenment.

All the enormity and intimacy of Mahler's Second Symphony is here to be savoured. Oelze and Schuster's voices pair beautifully, supported by superb performances all round.

Right from the rousing cello line in the first few measures, the Cologne forces are captured in crystalline clarity, the recording quality rendering not only the sounds onstage but also the acoustic feel of the Cologne Philharmonie.