Ernest's Bloch's 1903 First Symphony would be a major achievement at any age, but Bloch was a mere 22 when he conceived this massive work. He was studying in Germany at the time and the neo-romantic influences of Richard Strauss, Mahler and Bruckner are plainly on view, made all the more vivid by a startlingly emotional, youthful intensity. The LSO's brass and woodwind excel in this magnificent recording, conducted by Bloch specialist Dalia Atlas, who displays a complete mastery of the complex, rhapsodic score, which completely eclipses the prosaic Poems of the Sea.