BaL 21.06.14 - Elgar's Cello Concerto

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30am Building a Library: Helen Wallace makes a personal personal recommendation from recordings of Elgar’s Cello Concerto



[I][B]Available recordings


Zuill Bailey, Indianapolis SO, Krysztof Urbanski
Pablo Casals (cello), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Robert Cohen (cello), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras
Natalie Clein (cello), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley
Pierre Fournier (cello), Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, Rosbaud
Michaela Fukacova, Brno PO, Libor Pesek
Sol Gabetta (cello), Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Mario Venzago
Anne Gastinel (cello), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Justin Brown
Karina Georgian, Moscow SO, Konstantin Krimetz (download)
Lynn Harrell (cello), Cleveland Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Beatrice Harrison (cello), Orchestra, Elgar
Beatrice Harrison (cello), New Symphony Orchestra, Elgar
Steven Isserlis (cello), London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox
Ralph Kirshbaum (cello), Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson
Maria Kliegel (cello), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Halasz
Yoohong Lee (cello), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin
Li-Wei (cello), Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Braithwaite
Julian Lloyd Webber (cello), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin
Mischa Maisky (cello), Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Antonio Meneses (cello), Northern Sinfonia, Claudio Cruz
Truls Mork (cello), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle (BaL Choice 2004)
Daniel Müller-Schott (Gofriller cello 1700), Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, André Previn
André Navarra (cello), Hallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
Arto Noras (cello), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Vladimir Orloff (cello), The Hallé Orchestra,, Sir John Barbirolli
Gregor Piatigorsky, N.Y. Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, J. Barbirolli
Anthony Pini (cello), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Eduard van Beinum
William Pleeth (cello),
Jacqueline du Pré (cello), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
Jacqueline du Pré (cello), London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
Jacqueline du Pré (cello), New Philharmonia Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim (DVD)
Jacqueline du Pre, Philadelphia Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Jacqueline du Pre, RPO, Sir Malcolm Sargent
Jean-Guihen Queyras, BBC SO, Jiri Belohlavec
Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), London Symphony Orchestra, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
Heinrich Schiff (cello), Hallé Orchestra, Mark Elder
Felix Schmidt, LSO, Rafael Fruhbeck De Bourgos
Torleif Thedéen (cello), Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Lev Markiz
Paul Tortelier (cello), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Boult
Paul Tortelier (cello), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Malcolm Sargent
Paul Tortelier (cello), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Groves
Istvan Vardai (cello), Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Simon Gaudenz
Jian Wang (cello), Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Raphael Wallfisch (cello) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Dickins
Jamie Walton (cello), The Philharmonia Orchestra, Alexander Briger
Paul Watkins (cello), BBC Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis
Alisa Weilerstein (cello), Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Barenboim (DVD/Blu Ray)
Pieter Wispelwey (cello), The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Jac van Steen

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

This list is two years out of date and will be updated shortly.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Update completed.

[Don Petter]

Ma/Previn still seems to be available?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/39541-YO-YO-Walton-Concertos-Previn/dp/B006LQEGSY

http://classicrecords.co.uk/product/cbs-im-39541-elgar-walton-cello-concerto-op-85-cello-concerto-yo-yo-ma-previn-lso/

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Up to now I've never included vinyl.

[Don Petter]

Oops! My mistake. The Amazon entry doesn't seem to specify and I missed the significance of the other site.

[Nick Armstrong]

Nice list Alps!

But...

Elgar’s Cello Concerto

... really? Do we need this? Surely there are some less-played works of EE that merit the BAL treatment?

Am I the only one (and an Elgar fan) whose heart sinks at that choice?

[Sir Velo]

Nice list Alps!

But...



... really? Do we need this? Surely there are some less-played works of EE that merit the BAL treatment?

Am I the only one (and an Elgar fan) whose heart sinks at that choice?

At first blush I'd agree, but...

it was last done in 2004, since when the following Elgar works have all featured:

Piano Quintet
Synphony No. 1
Symphony No.2
Concert Overture, "In the South"
Concert Overture, "Cockaigne"
Violin Concerto
Variations on an Original Theme, "Enigma"
The Dream of Gerontius
Symphonic Study, "Falstaff".
Introduction and Allegro.

Now we haven't had a BAL on "Sea Pictures", "The Music Makers", "The Kingdom", "The Apostles", String Qt, Violin Sonata, Serenade etc, but....

[Nick Armstrong]

Fair enough, Sir V...

Feeling a bit grumpy today

[Lento]

Not my favourite Elgar piece, anyway (similarly grumpy).

[Nick Armstrong]

Not my favourite Elgar piece, anyway (similarly grumpy).

That's part of the problem for me too (the 'favourite piece' bit)

[cloughie]

Nice list Alps!

But...



... really? Do we need this? Surely there are some less-played works of EE that merit the BAL treatment?

Am I the only one (and an Elgar fan) whose heart sinks at that choice?

Cali I think I'm with you there. A great work no doubt but one I'm not deeply in love with anymore - played too much? abused on trails?

[CallMePaul]

The cellist notable by his absence is, of course, Rostropovich. Although a lover of much English music, he never played the piece in public, certainly not outside the old USSR and never recorded it. He is, I believe, on record as saying that he regarded this concerto as his "Achilles heel".

My favourite cellist in this piece has always been Paul Tortelier. He gives a more classical reading of the concerto (especialy in his later recording with Sir Adrian Boult) than do many cellists. I will surely ruffle more than a few feathers by saying that Jacqueline DuPré's recording has never done anything for me. I think hers is an interpretation that one either loves or hates; for me she pulls the music around far too much - it's almost "Elgar arr DuPré. I know that a lot of you will disagree! I would like to hear how some of the more recent recordings of this piece compare with old favourites so will listen with great interest!

[MLF]

For me Natalie Clein can do no wrong. Saw her a few weeks ago play DSCH's Cello Concerto - I may be in love.

[pastoralguy]

Although I never heard her live, I had a violin teacher who had led orchestras that she had played concertos with. He told me that the first time he worked with her she sat down and tuned whereupon the string players looked at each other with amazement since, they later agreed, they had never heard such a wonderful sound from a stringed instrument.

However, as she started to play, their amazement turned to slight disappointment since she crashed the bow into the strings with such force that she crushed the sound out of all recognition. My teacher commented to his desk partner 'she'll break a string soon' which she duly did!

But then, perhaps, she would have calmed down as she got older. Alas, we'll never know.