This is the final recording in the Naxos series of Stanford symphonies, featuring an unusual coupling of the early (but by no means juvenile) First Symphony (1876), without an opus number, and the much later Clarinet Concerto (1903). The sound of these Naxos recordings with an on-form BSO has a more forward quality than the clean but slightly more distant recordings by Handley on Chandos, which, for the rather luminous chamber quality of Stanford’s second and third movements (especially the solo string- and wind-writing), gives greater clarity to the pointillistic, almost Mendelssohnian orchestration.

As with the other three recordings, Lloyd-Jones shows a real flair for the classical architecture of Stanford’s art but at the same time he responds to the underlying and inescapable passion that exudes from the scores. The first movement, though markedly slower than Handley’s (11/92), retains a spaciousness and verve, while the finale has an infectious rhythmical élan reminding us of its foremost influence, Schumann’s Spring Symphony (in the same key).

Stanford’s first (though unpublished) foray into symphonic music deserves to be better known but his Clarinet Concerto, here played by Robert Plane, is frequently given an airing as recordings on Hyperion, ASV and Chandos attest. A fine work, in one continuous movement, written for Robert Mühlfeld (who never played it), it makes masterly use of the instrument’s wide register and variety of timbres. Plane’s interpretation of the composer’s long lyrical lines (in particular the central Andante), the climactic peaks, dramatic interjections and tender pianissimi, are nothing short of exceptional in their careful grading; clearly, as his recording of Stanford’s chamber works for clarinet (Naxos, A/07) demostrates, he has a special affinity for this music.