A320 suffered a compressor stall upon reaching cruise altitude. Flight crew elects to return to departure airport.

Narrative

We had flown the aircraft on the previous leg at FL390 and all systems were operating properly. On departure; shortly after reaching FL380; our cruising altitude; the #2 engine compressor stalled. A bang was heard throughout the cabin and flight deck. I noticed the #2 EPR gauge drop. I executed the QRC immediate action item; 'thrust lever to idle;' and told First Officer that I would fly the airplane and asked if he would get out the checklist for engine stall. I also asked First Officer to call ATC and get us a lower altitude; and he did. We began a descent and performed the irregular procedure. With the engine anti-ice on; I was able to increase the thrust on the engine without a stall occurring. At that point we elected to return to ZZZ for Maintenance to inspect the engine. I was queried by the Flight Attendants shortly after the bang. After the engine was stabilized I informed the Flight Attendants that we were returning to ZZZ; both engines were currently normal and that this was an 'Advisory Only.' I also made a PA to the passengers explaining the situation and gave an ETA for ZZZ. We sent an ACARS message to Dispatch telling them the situation and that we would not require 'emergency equipment' on arrival. The return to base was normal. On arrival at ZZZ; we had a thorough de-brief with Maintenance regarding the parameters of the engine performance.'