Best symphonies by women compsoers<\/a><\/li> <\/ul> Two other works provide this persuasively performed and handsomely recorded collection with some welcome ballast. The 1968 Horn Concerto might only last 17 minutes, but the majority of them are action-packed, and Martin Owen\u2019s horn playing, nimble and characterful, is a pleasure in itself. The major piece here \u2013 a splendid discovery -\u2013 is the first of her five symphonies, a wartime creation (1942) much admired by the conductor George Weldon, who conducted its 1945 premiere. Moments may remind us that Gipps was a pupil of Vaughan Williams<\/a>, but her individuality shines through in her inventive use of repeated patterns and phrases, the lively woodwind writing and the confident crowning of the last movement with a quiet and thoughtful finish. By the end of the album,\u00a0Coronation Procession<\/em>\u00a0is completely outclassed and forgotten.\u00a0Geoff Brown<\/em><\/p>