ROBIN MILFORD (1903-1959): The Darkling Thrush for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 17, FREDERICK DELIUS (1862-1934): Violin Concerto, BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976): Violin Concerto, Op. 15.

Description: The Darkling Thrush is a 13-minute long tone-poem from 1929 based on a poem by Thomas Hardy which describes an old, bedraggled thrush in a dreary winter landscape suddenly opening up and singing its song. The music follows, depictions of the gray countryside and leaden sky bracketing the beautiful violin song, accompanied almost throughout by a flute. A winter version of Lark Ascending. Pity it’s not sitting here alongside Milford’s unrecorded symphony but even Dutton Epoch appears to be infected by artist-selected repertoire now. Philippe Graffin (violin), Royal Scottish National Orchestra; David Lloyd-Jones (Delius and Milford), Philharmonia Orchestra; Nicholas Collon