Lutosławski’s First Symphony (1941 47) may be stylistically impure, with, for instance, some barely assimilated Roussel in the opening Allegro giusto and Hindemith in the finale, but it is less the product of a compositional ‘cul-de-sac’ than a touchstone for later developments; indeed, the fourth of the invigorating Dance Preludes (1954, orch 1955) and, indirectly, the Partita (1984, orch 1988) feed from it. (There is a deep-seated interconnectedness in this composer’s output, as Adrian Thomas elaborates in his booklet-notes.)

Decades ago, Jan Krenz and the composer both set the First Symphony down with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the latter’s authoritative account being reissued several times. Gardner’s with the BBC Symphony Orchestra is easily the best-played with the most vivid sound (although Salonen has recently recorded it, finally completing his Los Angeles cycle). Gardner’s interpretative decisions vary from Lutosławski’s, swifter in the fast movements, very slow in the Poco adagio (accidentally undermining Thomas’s description that this movement is ‘almost twice as long’ as the first: here it is well over twice). The composer had the balance between them just right but Gardner is very persuasive.

Pairing Lutosławski’s violin concertos Partita and Chain 2 (1984 85) makes sensible programming; what a shame Chandos omits the Interlude (1989), intended by the composer to form a triptych – unlike Naxos, which reversed the order! Little is a match technically for Mutter and the oddly detached Bakowski, and her playing is audibly warmer than either. With superior Chandos sound, this is now the version to have. In the much-recorded Dance Preludes, Collins proves as brilliant a soloist as any, not least Fröst’s account, which I reviewed last year, or Stoltzman, hitherto the market leader. Highly recommended.