Manze’s background as a period string player might be expected to give him some particular feeling for this curious quasi-concerto, and so it proves…Altogether it’s an exciting, intriguing reading, not least because of Lawrence Power’s notably lyrical, eloquent playing; you really feel this is an individual voice. But Manze’s sheer dynamism won’t suit everyone.

Power’s mellow tone makes for a poetic reading as the Byronic brooder, his echo of the opening theme as delicate as gossamer… Andrew Manze leads Power and the Bergen Philharmonic on a swift hike across the Alps, keeping meandering to a minimum.

In this vibrant account of the starkly original compound of symphony (Berlioz’s second), Byronic tone poem and viola concerto, one can savour its complex, multilayered textures to the full. The constant commentating presence of the quasi-autobiographical viola is a plangent pleasure as offered by Power.

Weber’s Andante and Hungarian Rondo is an effective piece that allows Power to display great tonal fantasy in the first section’s variations, and there is an impish sense of humour in the rondo’s various episodes.