A light touch and clarity of detail are but two hallmarks of this (first?) volume of Schumann Symphonies from François-Xavier Roth and the Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne. Other qualities include a wide, but not exaggerated, dynamic range, buoyant rhythms, eloquent phrasing (try the Larghetto of the ‘Spring’ for soulfulness) and a sense of joy and love in communicating this wonderful music. Okay, the (here slower) Trios don’t relate to the tempo of the Scherzo, but Schumann did fantasy and flexibility rather well – so does Roth. He opts for the first (1841) version of Symphony 4, more quixotic than the ‘heavier’ revision of ten years later. It suits him perfectly, dreaming dreams and striding confidently, his orchestra fully responsive, eager and sensitive, and beautifully recorded too, capturing ideally the likeably plump left-positioned basses and equably balancing the antiphonal period-leaning violins. This Schumann 4 leaps off the page as if Roth had just received the composer’s ink-still-wet manuscript yet had time to observe fully what is written therein, not least that the movements should follow one another without any pause. Myrios MYR028 [SACD].