Paul Watkin's new recording of the Elgar 'cello concerto.

[Barbirollians]

Interesting that the Times say it is not like the Albert Hall performance . I shall listen out for the excerpts

Talking of Proms performances I am reminded of the Du Pre/Sargent on BBC legends - well worth a listen.

[pastoralguy]

It's just arrived and I'm looking forward to listening to it tonite. I'll report back asap. I have to state a vested interest here since I do know Daniel Bell, the BBC Phil's leader. (Ex. Berlin Phil!!)

[Alison]

Is it the new Salford recording location again ?

[Barbirollians]

I think so Alison judging by the Times review. It is a shame that like the Clein/Handleyrecording it has not been
coupled with another concerto .

[Alison]

I still haven't listened to my BBC Philharmonic de Falla disc from that source -

some rather discouraging comments about the sound quality from Ferretfancy are lodged within

my prejudice now. I do hope that the blandness of some of the Philharmonic's recordings is not accentuated still further.

[BBMmk2]

I am rather looking forward to this. Yes, I agree with other board members views that Elgar/Davis do very well indeed.

Paul Watkin's performance, I rather liked at the Proms back then.

[pastoralguy]

I did listen last night but got interupted twice! I'll need to listen again but my initial impression was that, whilst not rushing, there was a feeling of 'get on with it' which I do like in Elgar. (As opposed to a certain famous recording which I'll take my life in my hands if I dare to criticise!) There can be a tendency to 'wallow' in this work if allowed. I felt the orchestra was a bit recessed. There were times I felt my memory of this piece was 'filling in the blanks' of concealed detail.

The Intro. & Allegro is (IMHO) very good,
if not quite hitting the heights of the late, great Sir John. (As if any mere mortals could!)

The P&C Marches are terrific. Goodness knows how my long suffering neighbours didn't complain. I was surprised that my sub woofers revealed an organ contribution at the end of P&C No.1!! Great stuff!

Definitely 8.5 out of 10.

[HighlandDougie]

Definitely 8.5 out of 10.

I strongly concur - and might even squeeze another .5 point. The sound (in a 24/96 download) is very fine - the surround version will need to await the next time I'm at the but 'n ben but am looking forward to the sub-woofer(ed) organ. Like PG, I don't much like wallowing in the Cello Concerto which you don't get from Paul Watkins. He has a lovely tone, though. What I also like about the Pomp and Circumstance Marches is that everyone sounds as if they are having a great time.

[PJPJ]

Sadly, no surround. No SACD, either.

[HighlandDougie]

the surround version will need to await the next time I'm at the but 'n ben

Duh, now why did I think that this disc had been issued as an SACD?? Alas, PJPJ has spotted that it's 2-channel only, at least until Chandos might make it available as one of their FLAC surround downloads. That would take me about a week to download with my broadband connection (the 24/96 file took a long time as it was), unless I did it in the middle of the night when my neighbours weren't into le streaming.

[Barbirollians]

I find the fashionable revisionist bashing of the du Pre recording incredibly tedious.

It rightly still won BAL the other year . It gets to the heart of Elgar to my ears in the way that no other performance does. It is not the only way of playing the concerto and indeed I also have obtained great enjoyment from a number of other recordings - the Tortelier/Sargent , Isserlis,Harrell,Clein,Lloyd Webber , Cohen and Beatrice Harrison in all their different ways but over doing the stiff upper lip like Tortelier/Boult and Watkins Proms effort misses the point to my ears .

[HighlandDougie]

The du Pré/Barbirolli was rightly the BaL choice: if I was allowed only version of the Cello Concerto to take from the proverbial burning building, it would be it (and I am eagerly awaiting the new EMI SACD remastering of it). It's a performance, though, which for right or wrong has spawned some not very good imitators (complete with the afore-mentioned 'wallowing') or has scared some cellists off the piece. As Barbirollians rightly points out, there are other ways of performing this piece and, while I didn't hear Watkins at the Proms so cannot comment on it, the new recording doesn't seem to me the miss of the point of the concerto but offers a different approach to it which I have greatly enjoyed. Just as I like balancing, say, Thomas Zehetmair and Leonid Kogan in the Beethoven Violin Concerto or Alfredo Campoli and Viktoria Mullova in the Tchaikovsky, so I will enjoy balancing du Pré and Watkins in the Elgar.

[Barbirollians]

The du Pré/Barbirolli was rightly the BaL choice: if I was allowed only version of the Cello Concerto to take from the proverbial burning building, it would be it (and I am eagerly awaiting the new EMI SACD remastering of it). It's a performance, though, which for right or wrong has spawned some not very good imitators (complete with the afore-mentioned 'wallowing') or has scared some cellists off the piece.

A very fair point .

[pastoralguy]

I yield to no man in my affection for the du Pre/Barbirolli recording and I apologise if I can across as 'bashing' it. (I would buy it on SACD too) My point was that others have valid points of view too.

And BAL isn't infallible. Look at the Britten violin concerto/Ida Haendel debacle a couple of years ago!

[Curalach]

I yield to no man in my affectation