John Neschling will be familiar to most through his many fine recent recordings for BIS. He is also an experienced opera conductor in Europe and the US as well as being a grand-nephew of Schoenberg. That Germanic side of his heritage serves him well in this newest incarnation of the overworked trilogy of Mathis Symphony, suite from Nobilissima visione and Symphonic Metamorphoses.

And be in no doubt that his sparkling account of the Nobilissima suite is as good as any committed to disc recently and stands comparison with Sawallisch, Blomstedt and, dare I say it, the composer’s own. There is a palpable sense of delight in the playing of São Paulo SO, especially from the winds. Yet the string body has its moments, too, for example in the central span’s “Pastoral” section, delivered with delicacy and panache. The concluding Passacaglia generates exactly the right level of cumulative power.

The orchestra audibly had fun in the Symphonic Metamorphoses, where once again this newcomer holds its own on interpretative and sonic grounds, the playing a model of clarity captured in a translucent SACD recording. The brass are nicely po-faced in the Turandot-scherzo’s fugato and the opening Allegro has an effervescent outdoor quality. The performance of the Mathis symphony is similarly inspired – the hushed opening is near-revelatory – although in a couple of places Neschling strives a touch too hard (by reigning in the pace) for gravity. These are minor blemishes in an otherwise fine account.