Elgar Enigma Variations, Cockaigne

‘the Enigma Variations is outstanding.’ BBC Music Magazine ‘Even seasoned ears will find fresh things in these recordings. New buyers need look no further.’ The Daily Telegraph

"If you want something out of the ordinary in terms of Elgar fare, then there’s four minutes on this disc which should extend your collection; but that’s not to dismiss the rest out of hand…

Of the many fine solos Lynsey Marsh’s clarinet is outstanding in the Romanza and as Ysobel, so too Hugh McKenna’s personification of Winifred Norbury’s trilling. The two of them fuse together in Dorabella’s stuttering habits. Listen out in her variation for more than pp moments in Graham Salvage’s bassoon playing (figure 39-40), which bring out details not usually heard here. Whilst on the subject of pianissimo, the start of Nimrod is magically quiet as the first violins sustain their G between variations, followed by a solemnly paced account with arching phrasing and an eye for detail, including some highlighting of lovely moments for cellos. Dan the bulldog makes a stunningly virtuosic leap, paddle, and barking shake during his brief appearance, while Basil Nevison never played the cello as finely as Peter Worrall does to start and conclude his variation. A rough-hewn finale packed with detail, complete with organ, concludes this thrilling account.

If you like your string playing liberally coated with portamento, then the performance of the Serenade for Strings is one you will surely enjoy. It’s an account which comes from the heart, eloquently shaped and delicately paced from first note to last. 

…Mark Elder has undoubtedly done wonders for the Hallé since he took up the post in 2000. Long may his own era last." Christopher Fifield, MusicWeb International