HAVERGAL BRIAN (1876-1972): Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Festival Fanfare.

Description: Huge and tragic, this symphony of 1930-31 was referred to by the composer as "Man in his cosmic loneliness", which gives a powerful clue as to the prevailing atmosphere of the piece and is easily Brian's most tragic work - even the cosmic battles of the Gothic were followed by a kind of redemption - and the coda is bleak beyond description. Yet like all great tragedy, the effect is ultimately cathartic, and one comes away from this great work with the feeling of having been offered a glimpse of the mechanism of the universe at work. Moscow Symphony Orchestra; Tony Rowe. Original 1998 Marco Polo release.