One that some people like a lot, and I like it, although not quite as much as the above, that has similar tempos to those, but which will be much easier for you to find on CD is the Thielemann/Munich Philharmonic recording on DG. Sinopoli/Dresden on DG is another good one. For a faster, more aggressive approach, there is Welser-Most/London Philharmonic on EMI. Inbal,Frankfurt .Teldec. Excellent performance of the radically different original, with a completely different scherzo instead of the familiar hunting one.

The classical, Schumannesque 00 was only ever intended as a ‘study’. Consequently, it has only seven recordings to its name. Without doubt the recording to buy is that of Tintner on Naxos. It is beautifully sculptured and spaciously paced. Moreover, this has a useful coupling that will otherwise be somewhat difficult to find: the 1878 Volksfest finale from the fourth symphony. Claudio Abbado, VPO. Decca. I haven't heard his DG remake with the same orchestra, but this is the version I got to know this puzzlingly neglected symphony. Giulini,VPO,DG. I've been bothered by the excessively slow tempi in this conductor's late performances, but they work in the 9th. Järvi offers an extremely beautiful performance, responsively played and, most crucially, sensitive to key transitions. There are many subtleties, while the finale’s angrily strutting second set will have your woofers quaking. Incidentally, in Järvi’s Adagio those hymn-like string chords are mightily sonorous and the no-holds-barred climax – with percussion this time – is extremely effective though the ritardando 'in' is perhaps a mite excessive.

Haas edition (1938): this edition is based on the 1877 version, with, however, some features of the first version. Perhaps the greatest of all recordings of the work, spacious, involved, profoundly human. So persuasive is Giulini’s interpretation, it makes it almost impossible to take seriously the attempt at a more detached, monumental approach found in Daniel Barenboim’s more recent Teldec performance. Giulini’s ability to convey fervour without sentimentality is little short of miraculous, and it’s clear from the way the early stages of the first movement effortlessly project an ideal balance between the lyrical and the dramatic that this reading will be exceptional. The recording might not have the dynamic range of current digital issues, and resonance can sound rather artificial in louder passages. There’s also an obtrusive extension of the trumpet triplets seven bars before the end of the first movement. But such things count for less than nothing in the face of a performance which culminates in a finale of such glowing spontaneity you could almost believe that the orchestra are playing it for the first time, and that neither they (nor any other orchestra) will ever play it better. Giulini/VPO is my favorite. His CSO recording is also a nice one, as are Jochum/BPO on DG, Karajan's 60's BPO recording on DG (he made one in the 70s for them too I think), Kubeli/BRSO on Orfeo and Furtwangler/BPO.

I could go on and on, but you have by now figured out that this is another Naxos masterpiece. Once more we are indebted to Klaus Heymann for providing us with a masterly recording. At the price, it would be sin to not buy to this disc.

Symphony No 6

Horst Stein,VPO,Decca. William Steinberg,BSO, R.C.A. One of his few recordings with this orchestra . Should be reissued on CD. So, what, you ask, prithee about the review of these discs?? Good question. Well, let me begin by telling you that whenever I listen to the 'main theme' of the first movement, which opens and closes it, for some reason I envision Laurence of Arabia riding his camel across an Arabian desert. I don't explain them, I just report them. I love it. The insert notes in the discs above range from puzzling in the Arte Nova to 'must read' in the Naxos. The Arte Nova disc's, written by Doris Lipka, indicate that the 6 th is marked, "Pastorale" on the score. Odd, I haven't come across that bit of information before. Ultimately, I would not claim that this is a performance to displace the classic accounts of the work – Furtwängler (1942), Georg Ludwig Jochum (1944), Eugen Jochum (1958), Konwitschny (1961), Schuricht (1963), Horenstein (1971), to name just a few I should hate to live without – but they are mainly in dated or less-than-perfect sound. The only truly great Fifth I know of in first class modern sound is by Takashi Asahina on a very expensive Japanese import disc. If you assemble a set via different conductors, here's some thoughts: (I'll skip the ones you already have, and try to stay cheap.)