Orchestral

In 1993 the veteran harpist Sidonie Goossens wrote to Simon Rattle to enquire if he was going to honour the centenary of her distinguished brother Eugene by performing some of his music. Rattle replied that he only knew of Goossens as a conductor, and never realised he also composed. Thanks especially to Chandos’s two earlier recordings, there’s less chance of such ignorance today, though Goossens the composer – eclectic, derivative, a post-Romantic with dissonant knobs on – remains difficult to categorise and, at times, to enjoy.

Written for Jascha Heifetz in the mid 1940s, the Phantasy Concerto for violin and orchestra constricts the soloist so much with tortuous melodic lines and over-busy instrumental gestures that you can understand why this star showman and virtuoso declined to give it a performance. Tasmin Little fiddles through the concerto with plenty of fire, but it’s not enough to save the piece from being fidgety, garrulous, and unnecessarily hard work.

On the other hand, though needless complexities cloud its path too, the forceful and personal Symphony