This promised to be an exciting reissue 30 years later from the old Lyrita catalogue. It was an example of John Ogdon’s generosity when Cyril Scott was forgotten – look at what he did for Sorabji, too – and this recording is an important part of the Ogdon discography. You can hear his zealous advocacy with every sumptuous chord. Bernard Herrmann, a genius as a film composer, must have supported the whole idea, too, in the run-up to Scott’s centenary in 1979. Why, then, is it so disappointing?

One glance at the playing times tells all. Ogdon is almost nine minutes slower overall than Howard Shelley in the First Concerto, and almost five minutes slower in the Second. The entire continuity, under Herrmann, sags and meanders.

In my reviews of Shelley’s recording of the two concertos I compared Scott and Delius in their intoxication with the immediate sensuous moment. This is especially true of the First Concerto, written just before the First World War, after which Scott’s continental reputation declined. The epic opening comes off splendidly in both recordings but it’s the decorative passagework later that desperately needs moving along simply to sustain interest. Shelley and Brabbins get it right and cut nearly five minutes off Ogdon’s timing in this movement alone. Scott’s scoring is often ingenious – the second movement deploys drum rolls and celesta. When the piano follows with a rather English melody as a solo, Ogdon sings beautifully: Shelley is generally cooler. The two performances of Early One Morning in a typically luscious setting are similar in approach and the remastered LP has come out well – but it is now overtaken.