Elgar's Hillside

[Mirror Image]

Seems extraordinary that this needs to be said again, after all the detailed discussion in this thread, but yes, it's simply true. Thank you for saying it.

Yeah, it does. Very well said, Velimir.

[71 dB]

It's an even more remarkable phenomenon than you suggest, because it was made in 1959, not 1971.

Oh, my mistake. Is it mono or stereo?

What I discovered, in fact, was that it has always been very highly regarded, but that fact simply escaped my attention all these years - mainly, I think, because I felt that I didn't need any more recordings of the Enigma Variations.

Before coming to this forum I didn't have a clue which performances are highly regarded and which ones aren't. This forum has made me aware of the vast differences. I started my music listening with electronic dance music were there is "one version" plus remixes (but only one version of each remix). Having 30 performances of a work was confusing when I found classical music in mid 90's. When I started building my classical music collection my guideline was: Naxos if Naxos has it. If not then a label that has it. I didn't really care about performers. I was into composers, not performers. In fact I hate seeing a picture of the conductor as cover art.

Believe, I have tried to "find out using internet what is the best version" just to realise such practise drives me crazy with all the contradictory information and subjectivity. I bought Cahill's "Spirit" out of your recommendation but it hasn't blown my mind compared to Lott. I don't know whether this action was meaningful or not. People are often lost about what really matters. This forum makes me very confused sometimes...

[Karl Henning]

Seems extraordinary that this needs to be said again, after all the detailed discussion in this thread, but yes, it's simply true. Thank you for saying it.

Well, normally it would not need saying again, for as you point out, Alan, we've been around that block before.

But this is snypsss . . . it isn't as if he read first, and then piped in ; )

I think I need to spend a quiet evening with the Gerontius and Music Makers excerpts in the Elgar's Own electrical recordings box.

[Mirror Image]

I think I need to spend a quiet evening with the Gerontius and Music Makers excerpts in the Elgar's Own electrical recordings box.

So much for Schnittke's Peer Gynt.

[Karl Henning]

I didn't say that I need do that before Schnittke : )

[Mirror Image]

I didn't say that I need do that before Schnittke : )

That's true.

[71 dB]

I just listened to Pierre Monteux's Enigma Variations on Spotify. I listened with headphones using crossfeed at level -6 dB below 800 Hz.

Performance: Yes, this is a solid take on this Elgar work. I have nothing to complain. I found the beginning of Theme (Andante) a bit fast but nothing serious. Mostly the tempi are good imo. Ysobel (Andantino) is impressive.

Audio Quality: The sound is actually quite good for the age of the recording. Some colourisation as expected. Background noise was pretty high and annoying during quiet parts like the beginning of Nimrod, which really benefits from modern digital technology. The stereo sound image was very good. The microphones have been in good places. The sound was a bit bass-heavy but I think everything on Spotify sounds like that somehow. The Finale ends with harsh distortion indicating clipping of the signal.

[Mirror Image]

You should definitely hear Andrew Davis' new Enigma recording with the Philharmonia. It's quite simply superb in all respects. Of course, Davis is no stranger to Elgar and conducts with a sense of pride, admiration, and love for the music.

[Mirror Image]

I've got to say that I'm not too impressed with Elder's performances. I listened to The Dream of Gerontius this afternoon and didn't think much of it to be honest. It just wasn't powerful enough and it needed more drive from Elder and the Halle. So the search continues, I may pick Hickox and Barbirolli at some point. I also didn't think much of Elder's performances of the Enigma Variations, although the performances of Serenade for Strings and Cockaigne Overture were well done. I've got Elder's performance of The Kingdom on the way, so hopefully this will be a good performance. If not, then I'll definitely be picking up Hickox's.

[Mirror Image]

My goodness I've just got to say that Andrew Davis' performance of In the South with the Philharmonia Orchestra may very well be the best performance I've heard of this work. Davis paces everything just right to my ears. The central viola solo never sounded better. Beautifully rendered.

[Mirror Image]

Does anybody know the story behind In the South?

The subtitle "Alassio" is a town on the Italian Riviera where Elgar and his family stayed. He strolled around during the visit, while buildings, landscape and history of the town provided him the sources of inspiration. He later recalled:

"Then in a flash, it all came to me - streams, flowers, hills; the distant snow mountains in one direction and the blue Mediterranean in the other; the conflict of the armies on that very spot long ago, where I now stood - the contrast of the ruin and the shepherd - and then, all of a sudden, I came back to reality. In that time I had composed the overture - the rest was merely writing it down."

[Taken from Wikipedia]

Quite extraordinary how he wrote the whole work in his mind. This man was brilliant.

[71 dB]

You should definitely hear Andrew Davis' new Enigma recording with the Philharmonia. It's quite simply superb in all respects. Of course, Davis is no stranger to Elgar and conducts with a sense of pride, admiration, and love for the music.

My goodness I've just got to say that Andrew Davis' performance of In the South with the Philharmonia Orchestra may very well be the best performance I've heard of this work. Davis paces everything just right to my ears. The central viola solo never sounded better. Beautifully rendered.

Looks like there is a reason to explore Andrew Davis' Elgar (I only have 3rd Symphony with BBC Symph. Orch.)
Recently I have gone over my budget with all the Tangerine Dream concert DVDs and Herbie Hancock's funk jazz that I need to take it slow...
...I'm also upgrading my DVD movie collection to Blu-ray so even Elgar (and A. Davis) needs to wait patiently!

I listened to the Monteux Enigma on Spotify so I am not completely ignorant, am I? Sometimes it is hard to live up to people's expectations online! 

Talking about In the South, I have these:

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / George Hurst / Naxos 8.553564
London Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Adrian Boult / EMI
London Philharmonic Orchestra / Leonard Slatkin / RCA
BBC Symphonic Orchestra / Leonard Slatkin / BBC Music
Scottish National Orchestra / Sir Alexander Gidson / Chandos CHAN 6652

I think I'll listen to Hurst now. 

[Elgarian]

I listened to the Monteux Enigma on Spotify so I am not completely ignorant, am I? Sometimes it is hard to live up to people's expectations online! 

I'd just like to suggest that this isn't a competition. Actually it's extremely difficult to make a one-size-fits-all recommendation for any work, not least because we've all been on different journeys to get to this point here and now. All we can do is report on what we find in case it's of help to anyone else. No one is going to go far wrong with any of the recordings of Enigma by Davis, Barbirolli, etc; you're surely right to say that the work is the important thing, not the conductor.

But when it's a piece of music that I know extremely well (I must have listened to Enigma at least 100 times during my life, and read a good deal about it too) it can be helpful to hear a performance that is radically different to what I've been accustomed to. That's what Monteux did for me. I thought I'd got to the bottom of it; but Monteux, with his delicate and detailed, almost chamber-like approach, showed me that I hadn't. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that his recording was the first one that enabled me to hear Winifred Norbury's characteristic laugh in a truly convincing way, almost as if she were present. That's the kind of difference I'm talking about; and while such differences are important to me, they simply may not be so for others.

[Karl Henning]

What a pleasure to read this post of your'n this fine, crisp Boston morning, Alan. I thank 'ee!

[Mirror Image]

Looks like there is a reason to explore Andrew Davis' Elgar (I only have 3rd Symphony with BBC Symph. Orch.)

Talking about In the South, I have these:

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / George Hurst / Naxos 8.553564
London Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Adrian Boult / EMI
London Philharmonic Orchestra / Leonard Slatkin / RCA
BBC Symphonic Orchestra / Leonard Slatkin / BBC Music
Scottish National Orchestra / Sir Alexander Gidson / Chandos CHAN 6652

I think I'll listen to Hurst now. 

In my view, there's more of a reason to discover Andrew Davis' recordings than Leonard Slatkin's. I think Slatkin is overrated on this forum. People say "Slatkin, Slatkin," and I answer "No, no." He's not a horrible conductor, but he's not a great one either. His Elgar is no different than his RVW or even the Stravinsky I've heard from him. I think he does well in American music though and this is definitely one of his strengths, but in Elgar he's no match for A. and C. Davis, Boult, Barbirolli, or even Handley. These conductors truly have Elgar's sound-world in their blood. But all of this is just my opinion.

In the South is an incredible work, isn't it? I've heard this work so many times over the past years, but never has sounded better than it does to me now. That Andrew Davis/Philharmonia performance really made quite an impression on me. I can't say any other performance has done this for me.

[71 dB]

In my view, there's more of a reason to discover Andrew Davis' recordings than Leonard Slatkin's. I think Slatkin is overrated on this forum. People say "Slatkin, Slatkin," and I answer "No, no." He's not a horrible conductor, but he's not a great one either. His Elgar is no different than his RVW or even the Stravinsky I've heard from him. I think he does well in American music though and this is definitely one of his strengths, but in Elgar he's no match for A. and C. Davis, Boult, Barbirolli, or even Handley. These conductors truly have Elgar's sound-world in their blood. But all of this is just my opinion.

In the South is an incredible work, isn't it? I've heard this work so many times over the past years, but never has sounded better than it does to me now. That Andrew Davis/Philharmonia performance really made quite an impression on me. I can't say any other performance has done this for me.

Slatkin's 4 CD Elgar Box on RCA is highly regarded in ClassicToday. That's why I bought it (it was also cheap). Is it my fault if ClassicTodays reviews are crap? Personally I find the performances of that boxset pretty good, but then again I haven't heard much A. Davis...

In the South is Elgar's best overture and that says a lot since Cockaigne is also brilliant. Froissart is significantly weaker than the other two overtures, almost an excercise on orchestral writing compared to Elgar's later works.

[TheGSMoeller]

Slatkin's 4 CD Elgar Box on RCA is highly regarded in ClassicToday. That's why I bought it (it was also cheap). Is it my fault if ClassicTodays reviews are crap? Personally I find the performances of that boxset pretty good, but then again I haven't heard much A. Davis...

I give high marks to Slatkin's Elgar symphonies and In The South recordings. I've also seen positive write-ups about them in Gramophone, Musicweb-international and Classics Today. Don't feel at fault for enjoying good performances even from crap reviews. 

[Sergeant Rock]

Slatkin's 4 CD Elgar Box on RCA is highly regarded in ClassicToday. Personally I find the performances of that boxset pretty good....

Which you should...because they are good. Slatkin's a fine Elgar (and VW) conductor. And it's always a pleasure hearing non-Brits in this music. MI posts a lot...and he posts a lot of nonsense. Don't take him too seriously 

Sarge

[Karl Henning]

Which you should...because they are good. Slatkin's a fine Elgar (and VW) conductor. And it's always a pleasure hearing non-Brits in this music. MI posts a lot...and he posts a lot of nonsense. Don't take him too seriously 

Thanks for the parenthesis, Sarge . . . I've now wish-listed the Slatkin RVW box . . . .

[madaboutmahler]

I've got to say that I'm not too impressed with Elder's performances. I listened to The Dream of Gerontius this afternoon and didn't think much of it to be honest. It just wasn't powerful enough and it needed more drive from Elder and the Halle. So the search continues, I may pick Hickox and Barbirolli at some point. I also didn't think much of Elder's performances of the Enigma Variations, although the performances of Serenade for Strings and Cockaigne Overture were well done. I've got Elder's performance of The Kingdom on the way, so hopefully this will be a good performance. If not, then I'll definitely be picking up Hickox's.

Sorry to hear of your lack of enjoyment for Elder's Elgar, John. Please, before giving up on him, listen to this disc:
[asin]B001HY3B0O[/asin]

The performances of both Falstaff and the Cello Concerto are absolutely outstanding, IMHO.

I agree with everything you're saying about Alassio, it's would be in my top 5 Elgar - alongside the two symphonies, the String Serenade and the Cello Concerto.