Why doesn't Europe get Elgar ?

[Roehre]

Something that makes me thing that the non-reception of Elgar in continental Europe is more to do with preconceptions and extra-musical associations than something qualitatively in the music is that his music has been taken up, played and often championed by European (and Russian) conductors: Hans Richter, Monteux, Silvestri, Haitink, Barenboim, Sinopoli, Solti, Oramo, Ashkenazy, Petrenko etc. ......

Haitink never did Elgar, Walton or Vaughan Williams at the helm of the Concertgebouw.....
Likewise he did not play DSCH 1, 3 and 12 in public. These were recorded for completeness' sake of the Decca series, but have never been programmed with the Concertgebouw or LPO with Haitink as conductor.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Likewise many of the recordings of symphonies and other works by Havergal Brian (on Marco Polo and other labels).

And recordings of works by Chris Dench and Richard Barrett, IIRC. Great man, Mr Garcia, still much missed.

[Barbirollians]

Off topic !

I tend to agree with aeolium here on perception. There seems to be a particular issue with Central Europeans who stay put- with the exception of Klemperer who clearly did not rate Elgar - the many European and other conductors who built up a reputation in his works are those who worked in the UK .

[Pabmusic]

I'd thought that, these days, we're constantly being reassured that we now live in an incresingly less violent society (even if only in an attempt to justify cuts in the police service) but never mind that; this is very interesting indeed, especially the Second Symphony in Paris! I wonder how that will go down! Who's conducting which orchestra?

Barenboim with the Berlin Staatskapelle.

['Actual violence -vs- perception of violence' is a fascinating issue, but even I could be persuaded that it's a tad off-topic. ]

[Pabmusic]

So the evidence for this neglect lies where exactly?

The symphonies? Gerontius? The other orchestral music? The other choral pieces and oratorios? But are these that well-known on home territory?

I thought that three performances of Gerontius in Germany (different performers each time, not one group repeating it) was unexpected.

And (which I didn't say before) the Elgar Society doesn't spot everything that's played by a long way.

[Pabmusic]

Here's a rather good performance of From the Bavarian Highlands from Munich in July 2012. It's a Munich University production:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE412A8DAC39E6514

[Richard Barrett]

Jerry Garcia's charitable Foundation.

In fact it wasn't Garcia but (former Berio student) Phil Lesh who supported recordings of Simpson et al.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

In fact it wasn't Garcia but (former Berio student) Phil Lesh who supported recordings of Simpson et al.

Really? I mean, you should know, al, but there was a Channel 4 programme nearly twenty years ago (The Grateful and the Dead) in which Simpson appeared saying how he'd never heard of the Grateful Dead, but that he was very grateful for the money Garcia's Rex Foundation had supplied for the recording of his Symphonies. I've probably mixed up details, and it was performances (or just a general award) that were being funded. The programme gave me my first experience of the Music of Chris Dench and that young Electronic Impro Duo, too.

[Richard Barrett]

Really? I mean, you should know, al, but there was a Channel 4 programme nearly twenty years ago (The Grateful and the Dead) in which Simpson appeared saying how he'd never heard of the Grateful Dead, but that he was very grateful for the money Garcia's Rex Foundation had supplied for the recording of his Symphonies.

I think you'll find that he didn't mention Garcia by name. The Rex Foundation was administered by all members of the Grateful Dead and each used it to finance projects he had a personal commitment to, which in Phil's case was mostly contemporary orchestral composition.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I think you'll find that he didn't mention Garcia by name. The Rex Foundation was administered by all members of the Grateful Dead and each used it to finance projects he had a personal commitment to, which in Phil's case was mostly contemporary orchestral composition.

Ah, thank you for this. It has been some years since I watched the documentary - the focus (as I "remember" it ) seemed to be on Garcia.

[aeolium]

Haitink never did Elgar, Walton or Vaughan Williams at the helm of the Concertgebouw.....
Likewise he did not play DSCH 1, 3 and 12 in public. These were recorded for completeness' sake of the Decca series, but have never been programmed with the Concertgebouw or LPO with Haitink as conductor.

No, and the other European conductors I mentioned will more commonly have performed Elgar's works with British orchestras than continental ones, but it's interesting that Haitink recorded the major Elgar works more than once - with the LPO and the Philharmonia - which would have been unlikely if he had had not rated them.