The demise of the Symphony is frequently announced, yet easily refuted by the quality of contemporary works bearing that title. Many recent examples have been written by British composers – Anthony Powers's Second, James MacMillan's Third, David Matthews's Fifth and Peter Maxwell Davies's Seventh, for example. To this distinguished list must be added Julian Anderson's Symphony. His four previous orchestral works contain sufficient structural ingenuity and intellectual rigour to make the cogency of his new piece no great surprise, yet it also offers some of Anderson's most lyrical as well as intricate writing.