The career of Josef Otto af Sillén (1859-1951) was long and varied: of aristocratic birth, he was a captain in the Swedish army, worked in insurance as a managing director, was chairman of the New Philharmonic Society, Chamberlain at the Swedish court, as well as being a composer, conductor and pianist.

Sillén came late to large-scale composition, the two works here dating from his 60s and 70s. Although the Violin Concerto was written for his daughter Greta – a pupil of Auer – some time after 1917, she never played it and the work languished until this recording. Its neglect is unaccountable: the first movement is superb and were it to have a more celebrated name on the cover it would be far better known. The other two movements do not reach its heights: both are well constructed but the ideas are commonplace.

The Symphony, premièred in 1937 under Adolf Wiklund’s baton, is more consistent. Sillén’s language was ultra-traditional, rooted in the Russian school, particularly Tchaikovsky, though without a hint of Sibelius. There is nonetheless a touch of Mahler at the outset of the brief scherzo and the orchestration is impressive throughout. Still, it is not hard to hear why this music was neglected – Sillén was around half-a-century out of his time. Hopefully we can now take a more measured perspective.

The performances, one or two intonational scrappinesses aside, do the music justice and are warm and committed, the sound rich and full. With an informative booklet, this is well worth investigating.