Elgar's Hillside

[71 dB]

I have another version of these works with John Ogdon, Allegri Quartet, Music Group of London from the EMI set that I should visit for comparison. Anybody familiar with that rendition?

I have those included in the 30 CD EMI set. I have to listen to them again (I keep forgetting fast how performances are). Maggini String Quartet/Peter Donohue on Naxos is solid good performance of these works. So is Goldner String Quartet/Piers Lane on Hyperion.

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Still, it is the music that counts and Elgar surprised me again with these chamber works.  Somehow I didn't expect to like them at all.

Yes, these chamber works seems to surprise people. I'm glad you end up liking them.   

[Moonfish]

I have those included in the 30 CD EMI set. I have to listen to them again (I keep forgetting fast how performances are). Maggini String Quartet/Peter Donohue on Naxos is solid good performance of these works. So is Goldner String Quartet/Piers Lane on Hyperion.

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Yes, these chamber works seems to surprise people. I'm glad you end up liking them.   

Thanks for those recommendations 71dB! They seem worthwhile to explore considering the pleasant performances by the Vellinger Quartet. It is true that it is hard to keep multiple performances of a work in one's mind. I guess the impression lingers, while that actual work dominates. The minor ups and downs of a given performance are a hard fit into my own crammed neural memory bank. 
I think I will find myself a copy of the Naxos recording!

[cilgwyn]

I really enjoyed that Hyperion cd. Wonderful music!

[jfdrex]

I like Solti's driven style with Elgar. The Scherzo of the 2nd Symphony is a great example.

Yes, Solti's "driven style" in the scherzo derives from Elgar's interpretation in his own recording with the LSO, made in 1927.  Here's Elgar himself, conducting--and caught speaking to the orchestra--while recording the movement:

https://www.youtube.com/v/0NTuYIClrfk

[Mirror Image]

Yes, Solti's "driven style" in the scherzo derives from Elgar's interpretation in his own recording with the LSO, made in 1927.  Here's Elgar himself, conducting--and caught speaking to the orchestra--while recording the movement:

https://www.youtube.com/v/0NTuYIClrfk

Wow, that's amazing. I don't think I've ever heard Elgar speak before. Very cool, thanks for sharing this, jfdrex.

[jfdrex]

Elgar:
String Quartet op 83
In Moonlight
Piano Quintet op 84
Piers Lane/Vellinger String Quartet

A first exposure to these works. Lovely! The quartet caught my attention. It was strange as I kept listening to the first movement over and over (4 or 5 times). Somehow it shaped a question and a trigger sequence at about 5 minutes made me want to hear it over again. It (op 83) seemed warm, tranquil and sad while occasionally shaping disharmony.  I was less fond of the piano quintet although it grew on me as it progressed (in its melancholy). The Vellinger quartet (which I never heard of) were vibrant in their performance. I have to revisit the string quartet very soon. 
I have another version of these works with John Ogdon, Allegri Quartet, Music Group of London from the EMI set that I should visit for comparison. Anybody familiar with that rendition?
Still, it is the music that counts and Elgar surprised me again with these chamber works. Somehow I didn't expect to like them at all. Is this some type of Elgar stigma that prevails within the classical music realm?

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Yes, I agree completely about Elgar's three late chamber works (opp. 82, 83, & 84), though I've not heard the Vellinger recording.  The second movement of the string quartet arguably contains the most sweetly melancholic music Elgar ever composed--and that's saying something!

I have the Ogdon recording on LP, but haven't listened to it in ages, so I'm afraid I can't give you an opinion.  But I can't recommend these two CDs highly enough:

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The first of those two discs (with the Violin Sonata) is unique, as it includes what is essentially a radio play (written by Michael Kennedy, who died on New Year's Eve) called "Wood Magic."  Per the liner notes:

"Wood Magic is an account, told as far a possible in Elgar's own words, or those of his friends and contemporaries, of how he came to write the four masterpieces with which his composing life virtually closed in 1918-19."  The words are spoken by Richard Pascoe and Barbara Leigh-Hunt, and excerpts from various of Elgar's compositions are worked into the play.

[jfdrex]

Wow, that's amazing. I don't think I've ever heard Elgar speak before. Very cool, thanks for sharing this, jfdrex.

You're very welcome!

That segment is included in volume 1 of "The Elgar Edition" (Elgar's recordings of his own works):

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And in this complete 9-disc omnibus set:

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The liner notes include descriptions of the recording sessions, and also recount what Elgar says in that segment.

Elgar can also be heard speaking in this brief film, made during the official opening of the Abbey Road Studios on 12 November 1931.  I must confess that this gives me goose bumps, and a lump in my throat:

https://www.youtube.com/v/iDgv5mjR1HE

"Please play this tune as though you've never heard it before."

[jfdrex]

What does everyone think of Elgar's Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61? For me, it's one of the finest violin concerti in the concert repertoire. It's a longer concerto at about 47 minutes give or take, but I think it contains some of the most marvelous violin and orchestral music I've ever heard. This is one of those concerti that is symphonic in scope like say Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 for example. The orchestra has as much importance as the solo violin. This isn't a work that is easy to pull off as I have heard two performances that have achieved this feat and they are Kennedy/Handley and Little/A. Davis. Both of these performances take into account that this work is much more than a pyrotechnic display for the violin. There is a story or narrative happening here as Elgar weaves in and out of tender, reflective passages to rousing climaxes. It's certainly a concerto that took some time for me to appreciate, but, when I finally understood it, it seemed like another door had opened for me into Elgar's emotional and spiritual world.

How do you guys feel about it? Am I just talking rubbish as usual?

Nope, you're not talking rubbish at all.  Or if you are, then I am too.

Paradoxically, it's at once the most expansive of Elgar's orchestral works and the most intimate.  Or so I feel.

I've got more than a dozen recordings of the work, and love them all, bar one.  For the life of me, I've never seen (or heard) what everyone seems to see (and hear) in the Kennedy/Handley recording.   Yes, I know it's supposed to be a beloved classic, etc etc etc, but for me it's dull dull dull.  Yes, I know it's sacrilege to say so--and I'll probably be called a philistine--but I'll take Heifetz and Perlman over Kennedy and Kennedy any day.

And Campoli over them.

https://www.youtube.com/v/iRmus_sFvC0

[Mirror Image]

Nope, you're not talking rubbish at all.  Or if you are, then I am too.

Paradoxically, it's at once the most expansive of Elgar's orchestral works and the most intimate.  Or so I feel.

I've got more than a dozen recordings of the work, and love them all, bar one.  For the life of me, I've never seen (or heard) what everyone seems to see (and hear) in the Kennedy/Handley recording.   Yes, I know it's supposed to be a beloved classic, etc etc etc, but for me it's dull dull dull.  Yes, I know it's sacrilege to say so--and I'll probably be called a philistine--but I'll take Heifetz and Perlman over Kennedy and Kennedy any day.

And Campoli over them.

https://www.youtube.com/v/iRmus_sFvC0

Thanks for the feedback. No, do not worry about not liking this performance or that performance, we're all wired differently and respond to music and particular performances in our own way. If pressed, I would say the Little/A. Davis is my absolute favorite performance. Nothing dull about this performance at all. Have you heard it? I can't say I've heard Perlman's performance but I'm definitely not a fan of his playing at all. Recently, I bought the Kyoko Takezawa/C. Davis performance of this concerto, have you heard this one per chance? I've heard nothing but good things about it. One performance that I'm really anxious in hearing is Kyung Wha Chung/Solti on Decca.

[kishnevi]

Perhaps a reminder for those who do not have it

Current Amazon MP price (US) is ~$45 plus shipping.
My only negative feeling about this set relates to the sonics of the oratorios.

[Mirror Image]

Perhaps a reminder for those who do not have it

Current Amazon MP price (US) is ~$45 plus shipping.
My only negative feeling about this set relates to the sonics of the oratorios.

It's certainly a nice looking set, but I can let it go as I own probably 98% of that box set already. What would be nice for people interested in Elder's Elgar series is if they would make a box set out of it. For me, with the exception of the performances of the concerti, it's one of the best Elgar series in many, many years. Elder has proven himself as a natural Elgarian, it's too bad I can't say the same for his RVW performances, which have been quite lackluster or at least to my ears they have, but, in Elgar, Elder belongs in the same company as Barbirolli, C. & A. Davis, etc.

[Mirror Image]

I didn't know we could make file attachments now! Here are some out-of-the-norm photos I found of Elgar while searching images on the net:

[Moonfish]

I have had a lot of fun diving into Boult's renditions (I know, I know - not everybody likes his performances, but I do... )
Another inexpensive way to get a lot of Elgar exposure!

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[Mirror Image]

This set would also be a great way to get acquainted with Elgar's music, the Barbirolli route which, six years ago, is where I became bitten by the Elgar bug for the first time:



This set, although not in this newer reissue, is where I cut my teeth on Elgar. Barbirolli may be, at least for me, the greatest Elgarian. His tempi can be a little bit on the slower side in some passages here and there, but the emotional drama and tension he brings to this music really felt right to my ears, especially after hearing Boult's performances (sorry, Moonfish -- I had to to say it). Barbirolli dusted off the cobwebs left from Boult's performances and brought the composer into a completely new light. He wasn't afraid to get raucous with the music. Also, how can my fellow Elgarians forget his accompaniment to du Pre (Cello Concerto) and Baker (Sea Pictures)? Quite simply legendary.

[Mirror Image]

To not completely dump on Boult, I will say these are the best Elgar performances from him I've heard:



Moonfish, if you haven't heard these recordings yet, then, run, don't walk over to Amazon and click buy now! It doesn't get much better than this as far as Boult is concerned.

[Moonfish]

To not completely dump on Boult, I will say these are the best Elgar performances from him I've heard:



Moonfish, if you haven't heard these recordings yet, then, run, don't walk over to Amazon and click buy now! It doesn't get much better than this as far as Boult is concerned.

Hmm, the EMI Boult box has two sets of the symphonies: Symphony No 1 (1976 LPO & 1949 LPO) and Symphony No 2 (1975/76 LPO & 1944 BBC SO). Alas, no 1968 recording...
Tempting indeed!!!!     So the Lyrita recordings appear to have a special status in the Elgar realm?

[Mirror Image]

Hmm, the EMI Boult box has two sets of the symphonies: Symphony No 1 (1976 LPO & 1949 LPO) and Symphony No 2 (1975/76 LPO & 1944 BBC SO). Alas, no 1968 recording...
Tempting indeed!!!!     So the Lyrita recordings appear to have a special status in the Elgar realm?

I would say yes to the 'special status' of these Boult Lyrita recordings. In fact, this set was recommended to me by someone, perhaps on another forum, who was a dedicated Elgarian and quite possibly had every recording ever made of his music or at least it appeared that way. I think these Boult performances are a must for all Elgar fans. That's how confident I am in the authenticity of these recordings and the stunning way Boult handled these symphonies. A must-buy most certainly. Again, like I said of the Elder recordings, you'll thank me later. Oh, and if you haven't heard Barbirolli's performances of Elgar, I must ask: what in the world are you waiting on?

[Moonfish]

Elgar: Symphony No 1        BBC SO/A Davis

from


Revisited the first symphony in a great performance by A Davis'/BBC SO.   Symphony No 1 was my first gateway into Elgar (well, I guess we all hear P&C first). As I mentioned in a previous post I now prefer #2 for different reasons. No 1 has such a unique charm though - the theme just keeps rolling on sucking in one's psyche in its melancholic turmoil. One thing I find interesting (which is true for many pieces) is how the symphony changes the more often one listens to it. To me it has started to connect with my own journey through life experiences. I know it may sound a bit strange, but there is something about the piece that is just beyond the corner, hiding within the themes, that keeps bringing continuous allure to the symphony. It brings me back to listen to it yet once more.....

On a different note: I had to laugh.  When the symphony started my 11 year old son yelled out: Elgar!   

[Moonfish]

I would say yes to the 'special status' of these Boult Lyrita recordings. In fact, this set was recommended to me by someone, perhaps on another forum, who was a dedicated Elgarian and quite possibly had every recording ever made of his music or at least it appeared that way. I think these Boult performances are a must for all Elgar fans. That's how confident I am in the authenticity of these recordings and the stunning way Boult handled these symphonies. A must-buy most certainly. Again, like I said of the Elder recordings, you'll thank me later. Oh, and if you haven't heard Barbirolli's performances of Elgar, I must ask: what in the world are you waiting on?

The Lyrita discs are now on my "list"!  Thanks for the recommendation, MI, as I was unaware about the 1968 recordings.
Barbirolli is around the corner. I am trying to find my elusive EMI box!        It found a special place to hide before I embarked on my Elgar journey!

[Mirror Image]

Elgar: Symphony No 1        BBC SO/A Davis

from


Revisited the first symphony in a great performance by A Davis'/BBC SO.   Symphony No 1 was my first gateway into Elgar (well, I guess we all hear P&C first). As I mentioned in a previous post I now prefer #2 for different reasons. No 1 has such a unique charm though - the theme just keeps rolling on sucking in one's psyche in its melancholic turmoil. One thing I find interesting (which is true for many pieces) is how the symphony changes the more often one listens to it. To me it has started to connect with my own journey through life experiences. I know it may sound a bit strange, but there is something about the piece that is just beyond the corner, hiding within the themes, that keeps bringing continuous allure to the symphony. It brings me back to listen to it yet once more.....

On a different note: I had to laugh.  When the symphony started my 11 year old son yelled out: Elgar!   

It was a part of my 'gateway' as well, Moonfish. It's still a favorite of mine and, you're right, there's something about this symphony that just gets better and better each time I listen to it. There's no question that Elgar put his heart into the music and thought long and hard about what he wanted to say that will add something to an already glorious symphonic canon. I think he achieved his goal without question. It seems like when it came time for him to want to compose his Symphony No. 2 his whole musical universe had changed. The melancholic nature of his music really rears its head in both symphonies, but the 2nd, for me, is frightening to the point that it feels so autobiographical, especially in that Larghetto movement. But Symphony No. 1 has it's own narrative that I find completely palpable and satisfying. Both works are masterstrokes from his pen.