Wilson and the BBC Philharmonic make the most of this music’s European footprints, aided by the typically clean and expansive Chandos recording, with beefy climaxes and plenty of ballast from the lower registers. But they’re equally effective punching out the American jazz rhythms…All told, this ebulliently performed collection offers a fascinating portrait of a greatly skilled composer in transition. Don’t hesitate for a moment.

Wilson’s approach is markedly different [from Copland’s own recordings], yet eloquent in its own right. Take ‘Militant’, the opening movement of Statements. Copland’s performance is strident and sharp-edged; Wilson’s is rounded and polished…In ‘Cryptic’, the second movement, Wilson finds a reflective, elegiac tone rather than the pained grieving Copland evokes. In fact, it’s in quiet, lyrical passages that Wilson is at his most compelling.

Wilson’s life-long immersion in the sound-world of American music of the 30s and 40s continues to pay huge dividends in the third instalment of Chandos’s splendid Copland series – if Vol. 1 boasted the Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 makes an equally vivid case for four comparative rarities, with the more acerbic movements of Statements making a particularly strong impact.

Wilson relishes the eerie orchestral effects of the central Dance of the Young Girl, but also revels in the Stravinskyan rhythmic audacity of the faster sections. He is an ideal champion for this latterly neglected music, especially the six aphoristic Statements (1932-35) and the cheery Outdoor Overture.

The Outdoor Overture, originally for a youth orchestra, is unremittingly, brightly optimistic, showcasing Chandos’ superb recording. The symphony is an arrangement of the Symphony for Organ and Orchestra. Stravinsky’s influence is clearest in the second movement; this performance’s strength is the finale, which flows like lava.