You’re never quite sure what to expect with Anna Clyne’s music, and that’s not meant as a criticism in any way. Now in her mid-40s and with several high-profile premieres under her belt, including a recent BBC Proms commission, Clyne’s music seems to delight in leading listeners along a particular route before changing course with sharp and unexpected twists and gear-shifts.

It makes for an engaging listening experience, as illustrated here in the 15-minute three-movement concerto Three Sisters, for mandolin and string orchestra. Inspired by the constellation of Orion and performed with an infectious mix of poise, power and panache by the work’s dedicatee, mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital, the first movement opens with a falling four-note figure on the instrument’s open strings against dreamy, sustained string lines. This brief introduction gives way to a flowing siciliano-type folk melody; but no sooner has the piece settled into its stride than it’s turned on its head with a series of loud, pounding chords. A more eerie tone underpins the second movement, entrapped Philip Glass-like triadic patterns eventually breaking out on to a series of sweeping panoramic vistas. The playful third movement revolves around a folk-like melody that appears to get stuck in the spokes of a revolving chaconne bass, finally breaking free of Ixion’s wheel in a fast and furious ending.

The most recent work, Shorthand, composed in 2020 for solo cello and string orchestra, is even more episodic, ranging from Romantically charged and intensely lyrical melodies and earthy folk-like patterns and rhythms to more dissonant, avant-garde moments. What’s remarkable is the way in which the pieces that make up Clyne’s musical puzzles all fit together so well – testimony, perhaps, to the composer’s ability to imbue each idea with its own distinctive character and identity. When the seductive, sliding solo cello melody heard at the beginning of Shorthand makes its return at the end, it now carries more expressive weight and meaning – a quality that’s brought across very powerfully in Yo-Yo Ma’s performance.

The other two works contained on this recording – the Grammy Award-nominated double violin concerto Prince of Clouds, featuring violinists Colin Jacobsen and Pekka Kuusisto, and the expressive, personal, Pärt-like Within Her Arms for string orchestra – use these discontinuities in less obviously dramatic ways but are also worth checking out. Certainly a name to take note of, if you haven’t done so already.