 |
 |
|
|
|
Classical CD
Elgar: Symphonies 1 & 2;
Violin & Cello Concertos; Falstaff; Enigma Variations;
etc; Campoli/ Tortelier/ Baker/ LPO/ Elgar/ Ronald/ Boult/
Solti/ Mackerras/ Handley
5 stars (LPO, five CDs)
Guardian
Friday March 30, 2007
By Andrew Clements
As this hugely enjoyable anniversary collection demonstrates,
the London Philharmonic has been associated with Elgar's music
since it was founded by Thomas Beecham in 1932. Some of its
earliest ventures into a recording studio were with Elgar
himself, and this set, which has been thoughtfully assembled
from the archives of several labels as well as the orchestra's
own, includes several pieces conducted by the composer at
sessions in London's Kingsway Hall in 1933 - the Overture
Froissart with just the right combination of swagger and nobility,
the Serenade for Strings, sweetly sentimental, the Elegy for
string orchestra, and one of the Three Characteristic Pieces
Op 10. There's another prewar performance, too - the Coronation
March, conducted by Landon Ronald in 1935 - but the rest of
the material dates from the 1950s onwards, and includes some
of the most important Elgar recordings ever made.
Many of those are conducted by Adrian Boult, who was the LPO's
principal conductor from 1950-56, and remained closely associated
with the orchestra until his death in 1983. Boult's 1956 account
of Falstaff is here - it's arguably the finest ever recorded,
distinctly more vivid than his later stereo version - as well
as the version of the Violin Concerto made two years earlier,
with Alfredo Campoli. It's by no means one of the best-known
accounts of the concerto on disc, but it wears extremely well,
just as Paul Tortelier's fine account of the Cello Concerto
from 1972, again with Boult, has been completely overshadowed
by Jacqueline du Pré's version with Barbirolli, yet
remains one of the finest memorials to a great cellist.
Some of Boult's greatest achievements with the LPO in Elgar
from the 1960s and 1970s aren't included here either, most
notably the two versions of each of the symphonies, made for
Lyrita and EMI respectively. But Boult's account of the little-known
ballet score The Sanguine Fan is included, as well as a wonderfully
spacious performance of the Introduction and Allegro for Strings.
For many of the most popular of Elgar's orchestral works,
the set uses performances conducted by Georg Solti (the First
Symphony and the overtures In the South and Cockaigne), Charles
Mackerras (Enigma Variations), and, most interestingly, Vernon
Handley. His superbly paced version of the Second Symphony
comes from an 1981 EMI disc, while the Sea Pictures (the only
vocal work included), with Janet Baker as the peerless soloist,
was taken from a Royal Festival Hall concert to mark the 50th
anniversary of Elgar's death in 1984 - which bizarrely was
recorded by Capital Radio. That's a real find, which every
Elgarian will want to hear. But the whole set is of exceptional
interest, even if it can only scratch the surface of what
the LPO has done for Elgar over 75 years.
For
more information about this recording or to order online,
please click here >
Back to top >
|
|
|
|
