York Bowen (1884-1961) is probably the most important forgotten British composer to be “rediscovered” in recent years. The cause has been taken up by labels like Hyperion, Dutton and Chandos, with outstanding champions in Stephen Hough, Sir Andrew Davis and Lawrence Power. This latest Hyperion exploration of the complete works for violin and piano has fallen to violinist Chloë Hanslip and the current doyen of Bowen pianists, Danny Driver, whose revealing survey of the piano sonatas won plaudits all round in 2010.

The major works here are the late Violin Sonata and the Suite for Violin and Piano, but there are a host of smaller occasional works ranging from the substantial Phantasie, a Cobbett commission in 1911, down to tasty soupçons like the Kreisleresque Bolero and the winsome Allegretto. Bowen was a proficient violist as well as a prodigious concert pianist, rendering these works highly “playable”. He was also a master of the dividing line between serious and light, with a gift for a memorable idea that imbues even the slightest work with charm and spirit.

Driver and Hanslip turn out to be a match made in heaven and respond to Bowen’s idiom with grace, taste and sensitivity. Recognising that the piano is an equal partner, not just for accompaniment, both are instinctual about when Driver should be given his head and vice versa. Coupled with a warmly natural Hyperion recording, this delicious double helping can be heartily recommended to anyone who enjoys genial late- Romantic fare.