Any connoisseur of British cinema during the 1950s will be familiar with the name of Muir Matheson, a ubiquitous presence in British cinema. The ensemble he conducted was usually the Sinfonia of London, which was the “go-to” orchestra for film scores and contained many senior players from London’s leading orchestras. In recent years, the Sinfonia of London has been revived and in a short time has achieved a coveted place in British musical life with its superlative playing standards. Its galvanic effect on the London musical scene must have resembled the excitement Walter Legge’s “old” Philharmonia generated, arising as it did out of the chaos and destruction in the aftermath of the Second World War in 1945. 

One of the original Sinfonia of London’s most revered recordings was not a film score but an LP of British string music, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli no less, which contained Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro for Strings, Op 47. The most recent release of the new Sinfonia of London, under their conductor and founder, John Wilson, is that very work, ensuring the ensemble has...