Classical home listening: Rachmaninov Symphonies 2 & 3; Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices

The ‘impeccable’ Gesualdo Six. Photograph: Ash Mills

• Completing their Rachmaninov cycle, the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, have now released Symphonies 2 & 3 and Isle of the Dead (Deutsche Grammophon). The Russian composer had a close association with this orchestra during his exile years in America. The sense of affinity is evident in these compelling performances, which manage the tricky balancing act of being at once voluptuous and reined in. In No 2, Nézet-Séguin doesn’t hesitate to linger over tempi, to encourage violin portamento (slides from one note to the next), but the result feels authentic and vigorous rather than schmalzy.