Incubus, Op. 28
Haven, Op. 4
Symphony No. 5, Op. 21

In a previous review of the Orchestral Music Vol. 1 by Steve Elcock (b. 1957) I had pointed out that this self-taught composer "doesn't try to impose on the listener a new cacophonous language, or paint an alien sonic landscape, but rather adds his own original and highly brilliant brush strokes to a canvas framed by historical convention." This certainly holds true again in this second volume of his orchestral works and aligns very well with a statement found in the booklet notes which says: "Elcock's music frequently embraces titanic elemental force, and yet it wears a human face." You see, his Symphony No. 5, Op. 21, according to the booklet notes, makes an overt reference to Beethoven's Fifth, by working out its harmonic development based on the tonal ambivalence of the first 8 notes of that symphony. Now this may all seem like it could be a boring intellectual exercise, and in the hands of a less original or creative composer it would more than likely sound that way, but Elcock's writing comes first and foremost from an inner force, rather than an established set of theoretical models, and is brimming with a life energy all its own which communicates at an elemental rather than intellectual level. In his music I hear elements from Holst, Nielsen, Mahler, Bartok ... all ingredients simmering in a pot of his own recipe. Not many composers still write beautiful slow movements like this one, or unleash as much kinetic energy as in this symphony's final movement. If you seek compelling 21st century orchestral music, look no further than Steve Elcock.