Thomas Larcher’s Symphony No 2 begins with a percussive snap and snarl, followed by string flurries like gusts of wind. The mood is angry and restless; the notes giving expression to something hard to put into words. Although this is a traditional four-movement symphony, albeit originally conceived as a concerto for orchestra, the Austrian composer is right when he says his piece is really about ‘different forms of energy: bundled, scattered, smooth, kinetic or furious.’

It is also a grief-laden work. Titled “Kenotaph”, Symphony No 2 is a monument to the refugees who have drowned in the Mediterranean, and its mood is essentially tragic. The first movement is unsettled, while the heavy weight of loss infuses the Adagio, a bed of strings tinged with piano and brooding woodwind. The forceful repetition of a single chord in the Scherzo gives way to a snippet of Mahlerian Ländler, and this is not Larcher’s only reference to the classical tradition. Shostakovich and Bach echo in the finale too. The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu are on livewire form in this recording, made live in concert...