BaL 28.03.15 - Elgar: Symphony no. 2 in E flat

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

RLPO/Petrenko at last years Proms would be at or near my top fave.

- it was good, wasn't it!

[verismissimo]

Wot, no Loughran?

[visualnickmos]

Wot, no Loughran?

Quite! Much under-rated conductor. 'Planets' - case in point.

[Barbirollians]

Very simple - Boult in 1944 and live in 1970s and Barbirolli in 1954 and 1964

[Beef Oven!]

Sinopoli, Philharmonia.

Nuff sed - this fred is now closed.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Very simple - Boult in 1944 and live in 1970s and Barbirolli in 1954 and 1964

And there's a Boston or Bamberg Barbirolii (BSO) live.

[Petrushka]

Without question, one of the truly great symphonies of the 20th century and a total mystery why it hasn't been in the repertoire of all the great orchestras for decades. After all, there is nothing specifically 'English' about it, whatever that means, as it's firmly in the Austro-Hungarian/German tradition and it even includes a funeral march!

There are many versions on my shelves but my default version has been LPO/Handley for many years, first on LP then on CD. There is something about the 'tummy-wobbling' organ pedal in the finale that marks it out as something special. I think that Mackerras also uses the organ but when last on BaL I recall the reviewer complaining that in that recording the organ sounded like a plane landing on your roof. Does anyone else use the organ?

Nowadays, I am as likely to reach for the Boult (Lyrita) and Boult 1977 Prom as any other but the 1954 Barbirolli is special as it was recorded three days after I was born! The 1964 Barbirolli is also a great performance, a truly magical 'the lights are going out all over Europe' conclusion after all the previous splendour.

For all the great recordings out there, I must register a constant complaint. There is that point in the third movement where Elgar instructs the percussion to overwhelm the rest of the orchestra. Virtually all conductors and recording engineers seem to take fright with the result that it sounds far too timid. It really needs to be a case of no holds barred, give it all you've got to achieve the real effect Elgar was after. I've heard it done in performance but never on record.

One recommendation? Difficult, nay impossible!

[Alison]

Definitely a work greater than it can be played!

Is this the first BaL submitted by RM?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

There is something about the 'tummy-wobbling' organ pedal in the finale that marks it out as something special. I think that Mackerras also uses the organ but when last on BaL I recall the reviewer complaining that in that recording the organ sounded like a plane landing on your roof. Does anyone else use the organ?

Slatkin - a very good performance indeed.

For all the great recordings out there, I must register a constant complaint. There is that point in the third movement where Elgar instructs the percussion to overwhelm the rest of the orchestra. Virtually all conductors and recording engineers seem to take fright with the result that it sounds far too timid. It really needs to be a case of no holds barred, give it all you've got to achieve the real effect Elgar was after. I've heard it done in performance but never on record.

Loughran certainly achieved this in concert, but I don't remember the same impact on his recording - I don't think the ASV engineers could register what the Hallé percussionists achieved Live.

[Alison]

Indeed - along with Andrew Davis and the BBC Philharmonic - perhaps my fav. recording of this work...

Do you mean the BBCSO or the Philharmonia?

[visualnickmos]

Do you mean the BBCSO or the Philharmonia?

I mean the BBC S O - sorry, my carelessness. His Philharmonia (2010?) recording is one I have yet to hear..... do you know it?

[Alison]

Yes, one of the very best

[Barbirollians]

Definitely a work greater than it can be played!

Is this the first BaL submitted by RM?

I think he did the penultimate BAL of the Elgar Cello Concerto .

[visualnickmos]

Yes, one of the very best

Yet another one for the wishlist, confirmed! Thank you Alison...

I find that with recordings of Elgar's work, there is a massive range of interpretive styles, methods, approaches, final results. All equally valid, all of them new avenues to explore. That's why I find Elgar increasingly exciting the more I become familiar with his work, and with the vast array of recordings. This is most definitely a case of "less is NOT more!"

[Barbirollians]

The Elder, Handley and recent Barenboim are all very fine I agree.