Huw Watkins and the Hallé’s latest album is many things. It represents a carefully nurtured artistic relationship of a kind that is all too rare these days. It is a demonstration that a handful of good things really did come out of the dark days of the global pandemic. Most of all, though, it’s proof positive that classical music can be complex yet approachable while also being spiritually uplifting.

Watkins, born in Cardiff in 1976, studied at King’s College, Cambridge and the Royal College of Music with Robin Holloway, Alexander Goehr and Julian Anderson. While highly regarded as a composer, he’s also an in-demand pianist and chamber music partner. His admired orchestral works include numerous pieces for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales where he served as composer-in-association.

The works presented here were all commissioned and premiered by the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder between 2020 and 2025. Symphony No. 2 was a natural successor to Watkins’ First Symphony, premiered by the Hallé in 2017. It was composed during the COVID lockdowns, which Watkins says only made him more determined that it should end on a positive...