It is hard to recall a more relentlessly driven performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony than this newcomer...especially in the outer movements. It is not that it sets any new land-speed records, though it is certainly brisk. Rather, Roth elicits a consistent and persistent sense of forward momentum that, allied to a willingness to accentuate the coarser aspects of the period instruments, places this symphony as an irruption of the Classical era rather than a blueprint for musical Romanticism.

With little or no vibrato in the strings, and strident brass playing that intentionally verges on the shrill (particularly in the trumpets), this is no comfortable modern interpretation but a gritty account that leans into the vivid timbres the instruments offer...hearing Les Siècles extract every drop of character from Gossec’s music, as well as from their period instruments (particular plaudits go to the clarinets for some wonderfully nimble playing in the first movement) is an absolute joy.

Another 250th anniversary Beethoven’s Fifth, and the best. Never have I heard so dramatic a performance, with the dynamic contrasts so violent and vivid...Pairing it with a Gossec symphony from 1809 is a potent reminder of Beethoven’s French connections.