BaL 8.10.16 - Elgar: Falstaff, Symphonic Study

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

0930
Building a Library
Elgar: Falstaff - Symphonic Study in C minor, Op. 68
David Nice compares recordings of the work of which Elgar himself said "I have, I think, enjoyed writing it more than any other music I have composed and perhaps for that reason it may prove to be among my better efforts". It's a symphonic poem in the tradition of Liszt and Strauss, but in comparison with some other works by Elgar it has not become as renowned or as popular. It's been recorded many times though, so this survey promises to cover a lot of ground in its search for an overall recommendation!


Available recordings:-

Hallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Barenboim (DVD/Blu-ray)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult (1950)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult (1956)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult (1973)
London SYmphony Orchestra, Anthony Collins
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Hallé Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Edward Elgar
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson
English Northern Philharmonia, David Lloyd Jones
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle


Available soon:-

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley

[pastoralguy]

This is a work I was always slightly perplexed by until I got it on cd. (In fact, the first cd I ever bought!). The LPO were conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras in a fine performance but what was great was that the discs was subdivided into tracks with appropriate commentary so it was easy to hear what was being depicted.

[EdgeleyRob]

I have a few of those,including Handley (Classics for Pleasure).
I also have NYO of Great Britain/Christopher Seaman,but I can't seem to find it,I'll have a look around later

[Pulcinella]

I have a few of those,including Handley (Classics for Pleasure).

I have the Handley too.
Just about still available:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elgar-Falstaff-London-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B0000647HM

(I also have the BBC MM CD: BBCSSO/Brabbins.)

[Pabmusic]

Great work. I've said before that if EE had called it Symphony in Cm then we could hardly complain.

On the day of its first performance at Leeds, the afternoon concert included the first performance of the Shropshire Lad rhapsody.

[silvestrione]

This is a work I was always slightly perplexed by until I got it on cd. (In fact, the first cd I ever bought!). The LPO were conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras in a fine performance but what was great was that the discs was subdivided into tracks with appropriate commentary so it was easy to hear what was being depicted.

It helps to follow it knowing what Elgar meant each section to represent, in my view. It seems more obvious than it is: even Tovey, in his excellent analysis, got some bits wrong. I have Rattle: it's an Elgar work he seems to like for once. But Barenboim and the Berliners is really special.

[makropulos]

The Mackerras /LPO disc mentioned several times is also just about still avaialble:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elgar-Falstaff-symphonic-Enigma-Variations/dp/B0043GAMLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475236785&sr=8-1&keywords=elgar+falstaff+mackerras

I'm extremely fond of this performance. Among others that get a fairly regular spin are Collins and the earlier Boult recordings.

[Serial_Apologist]

For me it's one of Elgar's most frustrating works - repetitive to the point of obsessiveness, yet including some of his most evocative music, drawing closer than the composer did elsewhere to the English Pastoralists, apart from the Introduction & Allegro. I always feel that in the harmonically mysterious coda, the composer was nodding in the direction of Debussy and French Impressionism, of which he must surely have been aware, athough admittedly I've never seen or heard it mentioned in such connection. Wasn't it Elgar who chided Vaughan Williams on his second string quartet sounding as if its composer had spent an afternoon having tea with Debussy?

[seabright]

There's also a 1945 broadcast of the work played by the Columbia Broadcasting Symphony, conducted by Bernard Herrmann. He's better known these days for his scores for Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock movies but during his time as chief conductor of the CBS Orchestra he championed quite a lot of British music. This concert also included the first US broadcast of RVW's Oboe Concerto with Mitchell Miller as soloist. Still, I doubt if this 'Pristine Audio' CD will get any mention on BAL, no more than it did in the list above, even though critic Lewis Foreman described it as "a superb historical discovery in such good sound" ...

https://www.pristineclassical.com/pasc202.html

[visualnickmos]

A fine work IMV - I'm quite surprised that it hasn't generated more interest, but nevermind that.

I like Barbirolli's exemplary EMI recording, and Mackerras - also EMI. I must admit, it wasn't work that 'grabbed' me on forst hearing, but now (as ever with Elgar) I find many hidden details on each listening...

[Petrushka]

Like others the detailed synopsis provided with the LPO/Mackerras CD was an absolute revelation in terms of understanding Falstaff. Once grasped you don't forget it and everything simply falls into place. I have to admit that I once found the work impenetrable but it proved fairly simple in the end to appreciate Elgar's humour and thematic transformation.

I love Barbirolli's EMI version (I bought it on the same day as the Mackerras!) but my favourite recording has to be Sir Andrew Davis and the BBCSO which ticks all the boxes for me.

By the way, I once attended a concert performance with Rattle and the CBSO (the only time I've heard it live) and a big screen behind the orchestra provided a detailed synopsis.

Part of the problem with Falstaff is that the programme is absolutely indispensable to understanding. Another problem, I would tentatively suggest, is that it might be thought a little too long and that it might be performed more often and be more generally appreciated if it lasted around 20/25 minutes.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

My first recording of this was very expensive - the Barbirolli's in a 2-LP set with the 2nd Symphony. The symphony was spread over 2 and a half sides, with Falstaff as a one and a half side filler. The reviews at the time were more favourable to Falstaff than to the symphony, and time has not changed that in the eyes of many.

[Alison]

One of my very favourite Elgar works.

I find the Mackerras Recording has an enduring magic, superbly paced and played and textured. Rattle seemed good on first hearing, imaginative and newly minted, but has not stood the test of time in my listening room.

[LeMartinPecheur]

I have a 15-page booklet Falstaff by Edward Elgar - Analytical Essay by the Composer, pub. Novello, "Reprinted from the Musical Times of September, 1913" with 15 labelled musical examples. Judging by Amazon UK listings it seems to be no longer in print.

Silvestrione, presumably he isn't one of those who "got some bits wrong"??

FWIW my shelves yield up Elgar's standard electric recording, Mackerras (EMI), Lloyd-Jones (Naxos), the BBC MM Brabbins and the NYO/ Seaman. Plus of course the Barbirolli (3 different copies but he's worth it!).

Probably enough to keep me going...

[seabright]

Nice to hear it played by a great Dutch orchestra, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam under Colin Davis ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H41DlTA8bMY