Eleven volumes and 35 symphonies down, Giovanni Antonini now reaches a third of the way through his Haydn cycle with a sequence of works with French connections. The two ‘Paris’ Symphonies (Nos 82 and 87) are shoo-ins, while No 24 is supposedly the first of Haydn’s symphonies to have received a documented performance in the French capital and No 2 became the first to be published – by a Venetian music dealer active there.

The two mature works are the main attraction here. Antonini keeps a tight grip on pulse, avoiding the queasy distensions of tempo in which Nikolaus Harnoncourt indulged in his set of all six ‘Paris’ Symphonies. That Award-winning survey is nevertheless appealing not least for its plump woodwind sonorities and the string ‘sparkle’ that was such a unique feature of the Concentus Musicus Wien’s sound. Even if the Basel CO can’t match that, they score with the vividness and vivacity of their playing, each phrase beautifully balanced and characterised, with slow movements glowing with affectionate warmth at flowing tempos. The lack of a second-half repeat in the first movement of the Bear is unfortunate but necessary to squeeze all four works on one disc.

The two early symphonies naturally sound more formal and chaste than the later ones, without the virility of the musical gestures or the imagination of the developmental procedures that were to become hallmarks of Haydn’s style. But never mind: Antonini and his Basel ensemble perform them with poise, accuracy and stylistic insight. There is a finely taken starring role for flautist Isabelle Schnöller in the Adagio of No 24, even if she is upstaged in the Menuet’s Trio by Konstantin Timokhine’s larger-than-life horn solo.

The rival cycle currently unfolding – from Heidelberg, now under the custodianship of Johannes Klumpp – hasn’t reached No 24 yet but offers a performance of the very early No 2 that is markedly swifter than here in the outer movements and a little more expansive in the Andante, albeit recorded a touch more distantly. But those invested in Antonini’s enticing cycle need not hesitate, and those spreading their favour between both will now have competing recordings of the two ‘Paris’ Symphonies in addition to two state-of-the-art performances of No 2 to compare and contrast.