The long-neglected British composer Havergal Brian (1876–1972) is gradually coming in from the cold, with recordings on Naxos, Dutton, Testament and now Toccata Classics.

Self-taught, from a working-class family in Stoke-on Trent, he shot to fame when Henry Wood discovered him for the 1907 Proms; but he remained an outsider to the British musical establishment, and is as much known for his creative persistence in the face of utter neglect as for the extremely serious and ambitious works that he produced.

His copious output famously includes 32 symphonies, begun when he was in his mid-forties and continued at a constant rate well into his 90s. The first of these works, the famous Gothic Symphony, was performed at the Proms this summer.

Not so well know is the fact that Brian also composed five operas, none of which has as yet been professionally staged. These works contain much impressive orchestral music, and this CD presents orchestral movements from four of them.

The Symphonic Variations on ‘Has Anybody here Seen Kelly?’ from Brian’s anti-war satire The Tigers takes the famous music-hall song and puts it through kaleidoscopic symphonic development.

The most generous selection of music here comes from Brian’s opera Turandot (a third version, to set alongside Puccini’s and Busoni’s): the Three Pieces Brian himself excerpted and the Turandot Suite prepared by the Brian expert Malcolm MacDonald, who also provides the extensive booklet notes.