The Second Symphony (1929) is Bax"s greatest. In it, he masters his own moods and provides his own quirks in tempo changes and theme shifts. It clearly is a work of the 20th century rather than the 19th, and is unlike anything any other British composer is doing. It has all the exuberance of the 1920s with none of the foreboding found in his later symphonies. This performance is also a high-water mark for conductor Bryden Thomson and the London Philharmonic, as Thomson manages to keep the normally sonambulistic orchestra awake for the whole thing. Start here if you"re new to Bax. --Paul Cook