Elgar: Symphony No. 2; Introduction and Allegro

Edward Elgar (Composer), Percy Bysshe Shelley (Composer), Mark Elder (Conductor), Hallé (Orchestra)

Product Details

• Orchestra: Hallé
• Conductor: Mark Elder
• Composer: Edward Elgar, Percy Bysshe Shelley
• Audio CD (October 19, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asv Living Era
• ASIN: B0002SVFOA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #472,092 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensitive and Beautiful Performances, June 9, 2008

By	D. A Wend (Buffalo Grove, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have heard the electric recording of the Second Symphony made by Sir Edward Elgar many times and also have a copy of a recording by Sir Malcolm Sargant, but I was interested in a performance that is sonically more up-to-date. This recording by the Halle Orchestra, conducted by Mark Elder, caught my attention from my having attended a concert conducted by Mr. Elder. I noticed that the timings for each movement were slower than Elgar's own recording of the symphony but tempi can be very fluid in Elgar's music and not an indication that the performance was dragging. That is the case with this recording. Rather than sounding a bit slow the music is beautifully phrases and played with great feeling.

The Halle are magnificent in this performance. The first movement is noble played with great energy and the "Ghost" theme has the mysterious sound that I have come to expect. The second movement is sensitively played and has a sweet melancholy as if recalling happy events long past: the movement had its genesis from the death of a close friend. The Rondo is well played with, nicely expressing the restless quality of the music and the drums and brass in the middle section of the movement are not overly loud. The Finale returns to the noble music of the first movement but as the music develops it is more of consolation and the tempo slows to express Elgar's "passionate pilgrimage of the soul." The performance is beautifully phrased and the recording balance is superb.

The Introduction and Allegro (for string orchestra) of 1905 is included as the first work on the disc and is beautifully played. Elgar quoted from Cymbeline, "Smiling with a sigh" to describe this work and these words truly describe this performance. The CD also includes Mark Elder reading Shelly's poem "Song" which Elgar quoted in the score of the Second Symphony.