Delius: The Walk to the Paradise Garden

For years, the only champion of the music of Frederic Delius (1862-1934) was Sir Thomas Beecham. His music was too moody--sometimes even flabby--for the British public. But his tone poems, which constitutes the bulk of his compositions, made way for Arnold Bax and countless others. Richard Hickox's take on these works is a moderate one, exercising restrain where Beecham let go ... or wallowed. Excellent here are the two Dance Rhapsodies and the killer "North Country Sketches," perhaps Delius's best-known work. If the Beecham recordings are hard to find, then the Chandos series is probably your best bet. --Paul Cook