I have recently discovered the music of George Lloyd (1913-1998). His work is in a late Romantic idiom–some great tunes but with enough harmonic and tonal spice to keep things interesting. He was a rising star in British music prior to World War II, and then struggled to regain his health and ability to compose after coming close to death while serving in the British navy.
For audiophiles, I recommend three recordings of Lloyd’s symphonies, led by the composer himself and recorded with the Albany (New York) Symphony in the late 80’s. The Albany Symphony is a well-regarded regional orchestra, but even more interesting is that the performances were recorded, direct to digital, at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. This is a hall famous for its acoustics, and the recordings do not disappoint (I used to live in the Albany/Troy area). I just listened to Symphony No. 11 and it is terrific. In my system I usually don’t get much depth of soundstage, due to room size and speaker placement issues, but with this I got more depth than I think I’ve ever heard (those hall acoustics??). These recordings are available as 24/44 downloads from http://www.highdeftapetransfers.com (search for “Lloyd”).
Some of Lloyd’s other music is available on physical discs from Albany Records, www.albanyrecords.com. This label specializes in contemporary classical music, mainly by American composers, and is very much worth a look if you like such music.