Surprisingly, given his formidable Sibelian credentials, Beecham’s studio recording of the Second Symphony (from 1946-47, listed above) falls some way short of greatness, for all its undoubted sensitivity and poetry. This live broadcast with the BBC SO on the composer’s 89th birthday is a different animal altogether, an electrifying account, famous for its volatility, unstoppable thrust and the maestro’s startling ‘tow-path’ shouts’ (to quote David Gutman’s memorable description) in the first and last movements.

The Dvorák coupling from five years later doesn’t have quite the same sense of selfless wonder and exhilaration. London’s Royal Festival Hall was again the venue for a performance of unquenchable spirit, if ultimately too fussy and flashy when set beside the glories of live Eighths under Karel Ancerl and Rafael Kubelík. Still, the RPO play their hearts out, and there are felicities galore from Beecham’s incomparable woodwind roster (which included such luminaries as Jack Brymer and Gwydion Brooke).

Prospective purchasers can rest assured that these new 20-bit transfers of the original mono tapes represent a welcome improvement over their EMI Beecham Edition predecessors (7/90, nla). Worth snapping up for the Sibelius alone, I’d say.