The forgotten Violin Concerto of 1939, a substantial work of 37 minutes which the composer never heard in its orchestral form during his lifetime, reminds us that William Alwyn – desperate to be considered a “serious” creative figure – was already producing works of considerable stature and symphonic design well before he began his series of five symphonies in 1948. Lloyd-Jones and McAslan give admirable shape to the long, rhapsodic first movement which, in many ways, is almost like a hybrid first movement of a symphony rather than a concerto. The reverie of the much shorter slow movement provides an effective and haunting foil to this extended essay while the similarly short but more technically demanding finale is performed with agile warmth by McAslan, whose attractive tone and expressive style seem entirely in tune with this distinctive musical language.

It is good to hear the suite of pieces from Alwyn’s last completed opera, Miss Julie (1976‑79), arranged by Philip Lane. The RLPO respond splendidly to its colourful orchestration; indeed, one cannot help but feel that Alwyn’s immense experience with film helped with the invention of the opera’s strikingly vivid musical ideas, not least the sinister recurring waltz, the rich but ironic love music and the closing marcia funebre which marks Miss Julie’s offstage suicide. A recording that fuels one’s desire to hear the entire opera properly and professionally staged.