The works of the British composer William Alwyn, whose centenary falls this year, include five symphonies, concertos, operas and more than two hundred film scores. Alwyn was an unashamed Romantic who preferred his music to appeal to the heart rather than to the head. Perhaps the most accessible of the cycle, Symphony No. 1 is traditional in its form and stirring and extrovert in character. In contrast Symphony No. 3 is more challenging for the listener. The slow middle movement has a haunting, nocturnal atmosphere, while the outer movements are stormy and passionate, the finale having some of the fierce warlike character of Mars from Holst’s The Planets.