BaL 14.01.12 - Elgar: Violin Concerto

[visualnickmos]

...Dong-Suk Kang, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper on Naxos.
Does anyone on here rate this performance ?.

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Yes - It is a superb performance.

[Alison]

I loved the way Menuhin and Boult brought the first movement to land
and shall seek out that version.

An enjoyable BaL without feeling total confidence in Mr Cotton.

The Haendel/Boult does sound most intriguing while needless to say I

should love an issue of Ida's late seventies Proms performance under Mr Haitink.

[Norfolk Born]

Yes - It (Dong Suk Kan on Naxos) is a superb performance.

Agreed!

[salymap]

Sorry to sound like Sydney but may I suggest that Members beg, borrow or steal a copy of 'Letters of Edward Elgar' Percy M.Young, published Geoffrey Bles, 1956. There is far too much for me to type, letters about the composition of the VC to and from Billy Reed, about Kreisler etc, etc.

A book I would not give away. PS perhaps not steal

[amateur51]

I loved the way Menuhin and Boult brought the first movement to land
and shall seek out that version.

An enjoyable BaL without feeling total confidence in Mr Cotton.

The Haendel/Boult does sound most intriguing while needless to say I

should love an issue of Ida's late seventies Proms performance under Mr Haitink.

Oh yes indeed, Alison! :OK:

There was no mention of Ida's 'live' performance with Rattle/CBSO available on Testament

[pastoralguy]

There was no mention of Ida's 'live' performance with Rattle/CBSO available on Testament

It's very good indeed and is coupled with a superb performance of the Sibelius concerto.

[amateur51]

It's very good indeed and is coupled with a superb performance of the Sibelius concerto.

I completely agree, pastoralguy!

Although that issue is clearly about Ida Haendel it set me wondering if the BBC/Testament has further issues of Rattle concerts up its sleeve - I've often found Rattle in the concert hall to be a very different beast to Rattle in the studio and his time at CBSO gave us many wonderful concerts, particularly in the Michael Vyner-inspired Towards the Millennium series. Here's hoping

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I've often found Rattle in the concert hall to be a very different beast to Rattle in the studio

and his time at CBSO gave us many wonderful concerts, particularly in the Michael Vyner-inspired Towards the Millennium series. Here's hoping

[yuccahouse]

Whatever one thinks of the final choice, the Review of the Elgar Vln Conc was masterly, and producers brave to broadcast lengthy extracts from historic recordings. For all you completist, there was an unfortunate error by A.M. later when he described Marie Hall's December 1916 abridged version as the 'first recording'. That prize goes to Sammons and Wood for a similar condensed version, recorded April 1916 and released October that year. It's never been re-released. Happily at least one copy survives: it's playing on my turntable now. Sobering to think that over a million casualties occurred on Somme between those first two recordings.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

For all you completist, there was an unfortunate error by A.M. later when he described Marie Hall's December 1916 abridged version as the 'first recording'. That prize goes to Sammons and Wood for a similar condensed version, recorded April 1916 and released October that year. It's never been re-released. Happily at least one copy survives: it's playing on my turntable now.

That's most interesting, and there may be very few surviving copies. Look after it!

And I see it's your first post. Welcome!

[yuccahouse]

Thanks for the welcome. I've been slow to contribute in some pretty knowledgeable company. But the clear view emerging is that, whatever disc does it for you, the Elgar is in a category of its own for many music-lovers. And quite right too. I got the last ticket to the Znaider/Davis centenary performance at Barbican and echo the comment that the disc was made too soon: it is nothing like as fine as his performance that night. Quiet moments down to the barest thread. But Little has the passion and the tenderness. My first choice of the new discs.

[cloughie]

Two fascinating facts from the review were:
1. That there were no recordings of Elgar VC made between 1954 and 1966 - Even with the austerity of the current Classical new recording market I can't imagine that there would be 12 months between recordings, let alone 12 years!
2. That Barbirolli never recorded it - arguably the best Elgar conductor ever - never recorded it. I know there are rumours that he would not record it with anyone but Kreisler but surely by the 1960s when he was doing most of the rest of Elgar (OK no In the South) he should have been persuaded!

[Pabmusic]

...but surely by the 1960s when he was doing most of the rest of Elgar (OK no In the South) he should have been persuaded!

There is live performance of In The South, from 1970: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Barbirolli-C...6754852&sr=8-2

The 12-year gap seems surprising until you realise that is covers Elgar's very lowest period (the years around his centenary). It's difficult to grasp just how low his reputation was in the circles of musical power; his name was not even allowed to be mentioned in certain academic circles. Add to this the fact that the violin concerto is truly daunting for any soloist not used to it*, it's perhaps not too surprising that no 'new' soloists recorded it during that period.

Kreisler just went off the piece as the years passed. I doubt it was Elgar's conducting, since he didn't perform it often with anyone else.

*(Just consider: Just the first two movements together are longer than the concertos by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Bruch or Glazunov, and not very much shorter than those by Tchaikovsky, Sibelius or Bartok. And it does not stop there. After about 10 minutes of the finale, when it seems that the goal is in sight, the music collapses into that accompanied cadenza, lasting 6 or 7 minutes, and which is truly the emotional heart of the work. The only concertos in the regular repertoire that have a similar physical and emotional scale are those by Beethoven and Brahms, and they're both shorter.)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... that accompanied cadenza, lasting lasts 6 or 7 minutes, and which is truly the emotional heart of the work.

... like stepping from a busy city centre into a different psychological landscape: simultaneously chilling and captivating.

And I so share Cloughie's disappointment that JB didn't record the work (or The Kingdom or The Apostles ... or, for obvious reasons, the Third Symphony!) He just didn't "find" the right soloist - after all, he wouldn't've recorded Gerontius if it weren't for Janet Baker finally helping him recover from the loss of Kathleen Ferrier.

[amateur51]

... like stepping from a busy city centre into a different psychological landscape: simultaneously chilling and captivating.

That is an extraordinary way of looking at it, ferney but it works for me