The Second Symphony (1947-8) may come as a big surprise to those who know Egon Wellesz only from his later Expressionist, atonal idiom. Here is a large-scale symphony in the grand Austrian tradition, albeit neither of Brucknerian length nor Mahlerian hysteria. Tonality is the dominating force of its harmonic language, even going so far in the Adagio third movement to suggest English folk song (hence, perhaps, its soubriquet), although in truth its character is Austrian through and through.

If this was a ‘compositional re-orientation’, as annotator Hannes Heher suggests, prompted by a need to communicate with the more conservative audience of his adopted country, Wellesz did not dumb down any more than his erstwhile teacher Schoenberg (of whom he was the first biographer) did in the US. Listen behind the classical façade of this magnificently warm-hearted music and one will discern clearly the structural mastery, as keenly realised as in any work of Schubert or Bruckner, and considerably more cogent than Mahler. The Scherzo is a pure joy, while the sonata-derived outer movements are vividly dramatic.

The Ninth (1970-1), his symphonic swansong, is altogether different. The increasing concentration of form and expression evident from the Sixth (with Nos 4 and 7, 6/03, shortlisted for last year’s Gramophone Awards) onwards, reached its ultimate form here, though always perfectly realised within his own soundworld. Ironically, the atonal Ninth appears to owe more – at least superficially – to contemporaneous British symphonism than the ‘English’ Second ever did, due largely to the increased cosmopolitanism of younger British composers than any idiomatic volte-face by the emigré Wellesz.

In his note on the textual problems of Wellesz’s manuscripts, Gottfried Rabl provides fascinating contexts for both symphonies by listing what British composers were producing at the time. His keen study of Wellesz having once again produced superb performances, brilliantly recorded again by CPO, might one dare hope that when this unmissable cycle is complete his and CPO’s attention will turn to some of those British symphonists he cites: Brian, Cooke, Fricker, Hamilton and McCabe?