York Bowen was just 18 and a composition pupil of Frederick Corder at the Royal Academy of Music when he wrote his First Symphony in 1902. At least one of its three movements was played while Bowen was still a student but this admirable account would seem to be only the symphony’s second complete performance (it was first heard in its entirety at the 2010 English Music Festival in Dorchester-upon-Thames), and it emerges as a most engaging discovery – tuneful, tastefully scored and never outstaying its welcome. The highlight is the central Larghetto, a fragrant essay which taps into a rich seam of lyrical beauty, but both outer movements have much to commend them too (indeed, the opening Allegro assai can boast a gloriously warm-hearted second subject that lingers obstinately in the memory). Anyone with a fondness for Sullivan, Stanford, Edward German or Samuel Coleridge-Taylor will feel at home.

The more ambitious Second Symphony dates from 1909 but had to wait a further three years for its premiere at Queen’s Hall in London conducted by Landon Ronald. There are four movements and the music now has far more of a Russian tang about it – though next to, say, Rachmaninov’s masterly Second Symphony (also in E minor, completed in 1907), the work as a whole perhaps never quite adds up to the sum of its parts.

What cannot be denied is that Bowen handles his sizeable forces with consummate assurance and there are things to savour along the 43-minute journey, not least the first movement’s chiming, Borodin-like second subject, as well as the gorgeous horn solo that launches the succeeding Lento. Although the Scherzo sparkles agreeably enough in the manner of Glazunov, inspiration begins to flag in the finale, where the development even brings a suggestion of note-spinning and the exuberant coda comes a little too late in the day to redeem matters. Still, Bowen’s red-blooded Second Symphony makes for a throroughly enjoyable, late-Romantic splurge, and is certainly delivered here with unflagging conviction and energy.

Production values are all one could desire, with Stephen Rinker’s glowingly realistic, richly upholstered sound complementing the consistently polished and affectionate music-making. Recommended, especially if you have a sweet tooth.