Once championed by the likes of Stokowski and Bernstein, Paul Ben-Haim’s music is little heard these days, making this recording a welcome addition to the catalogue. Born Paul Frankenburger in Munich in 1897, he initially worked as an assistant conductor at the Bavarian State Opera from 1920 to 1924 under Walter and Knappertsbusch, and then as Kapellmeister of the Augsburg Opera from 1924 to 1931, after which he dedicated his career to teaching and composition. The growing anti-Semitism of the time precipitated a relocation to Palestine in 1933 and he later became an important figure in the Israeli classical music scene.

Dating from 1931, the three-movement Concerto grosso was Ben-Haim’s first large-scale orchestral composition. Despite the title and the presence of fugal sections in the outer movements, this is very much a piece in the late-Romantic tradition. Much of the writing has a warmth that evokes American composers of the era such as Barber and Harris, although the slow second movement is a pensive affair with hints of Debussy. The final movement is a passacaglia with an apotheosis based on the opening theme of the first movement.

By the time the Second Symphony was completed in 1945, Ben-Haim had gained exposure to the traditional Jewish music of the Middle East, whose influence can be heard in the score, notably the Persian dance that forms the main theme of the Scherzo. The trauma of the events of the Second World War, including the loss of Ben-Haim’s sister in the Holocaust, are reflected in the anguished opening of the Andante affettuoso, while elsewhere the music has a rhythmic buoyancy and litheness reminiscent of Copland. As with the Concerto grosso, the finale reaches an apotheosis based on the opening theme of the work.

The late Israel Yinon leads the NDR Radiophilharmonie in committed performances of these intriguing works, and the CPO recording is clear and well balanced, albeit a little hard-edged in louder passages.