Elgar: Imperial March / Symphony 1

Edward Elgar (Composer), George Hurst (Conductor), BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: George Hurst
• Composer: Edward Elgar
• Audio CD (January 28, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B0000013VE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #614,755 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Value for Money, April 20, 2000

By 

KH (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elgar: Imperial March / Symphony 1 (Audio CD)

This may not be the best Elgar 1st ever committed to disk (I would go to Previn's on Philips or Otaka's on Bis for that), but it is excellent value for the money.

The BBC Phil has now reached world class stature, and no one can complain about their playing. I find Hurst a little loose and discursive in the first movement, but the slow movement is rapturously beautiful and relaxed, while the finale, by contrast, is bold and vigorous--downright powerful at the end.

The March is agreeable filler--rarely recorded, not a great piece, and very brief (about 5 minutes--but very well presented here.

Sound is not audiophile levels, but totally competitive. You can't go wrong at the Naxos price.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good version, but not a top choice, January 4, 2009

By 

G.D. (Norway) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Elgar: Imperial March / Symphony 1 (Audio CD)

George Hurst's approach to the first symphony might understandably be criticized for being superficial, yet there is much to enjoy here. The first movement is elegantly swaggering, but with a surprisingly strong sense of purpose. The performance of the slow movement is, perhaps, the weakest on the disc, with little depth and not a perfect sense of structure, although it sounds beautifully. The Allegro Molto is not completely successful either - true, the secondary material is wonderful, but the more troubled fast material completely lacks the urgency of, say, Slatkin. The finale does perhaps lack a sense of purpose as well, but here Hurst at least never fails to grab one's attention, and he brings out some superb playing from the orchestra. Indeed, the playing is thoroughly satisfying and the recording quality excellent - this release gives absolutely no indication of being any hurried and scrappily played budget option. But as indicated, it isn't really a front-runner either. The Imperial March is as well played as on any alternative recording (not many of them), but for the main course I'd still go for Slatkin (among modern versions, at least).