Elgar: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 (new recordings)

"Elgar’s music has stood at the center of Sir Mark Elder’s tenure with the Hallé Orchestra, so it was only fitting that the conductor’s final season with the group be marked by a new recording of his two symphonies. These are towering performances, knowing, lived-in, deeply felt—a beautiful testament to the extraordinary rapport formed over the course of two decades between Elder and his band." artsfuse.org

"For those reared on Sir Alexander Gibson’s legendary Elgar symphonies performances (and recordings) with the Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder’s newly released coupling of both completed symphonies with the Hallé Orchestra is like a nostalgic flashback. Like Gibson, he captures intuitively the right tempi, neither plodding nor impetuous, imbuing the detailed inner workings with ample latitude to express themselves. But Elder, who leaves the Hallé this summer after 24 years as music director, is very much his own man." thescotsman.com

"In both works, Elder's grasp of the symphonic architecture seems faultless, so that the very different endings of the works are overwhelmingly convincing." Andrew Clements, The Guardian

"At the time of writing this review (in early April 2024), it’s only a matter of weeks until Sir Mark Elder steps down from the post of Music Director of the Hallé. He was appointed to the role in 1999 and his final concert, on June 1 will include Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and the European premiere of a new choral work, commissioned by the Hallé from Sir James MacMillan: Timotheus, Bacchus and Cecilia. To mark the end of this distinguished and successful partnership, the orchestra has released on its own label these performances of the two Elgar symphonies. There are already Elder accounts of both works in the Hallé catalogue but readers should note that this set is not a reissue of those recordings; these are new versions…

The 2001 recording was made when Elder’s relationship with the orchestra was in its early days. By 2021 they knew each other so much better. More relevantly, by then they had developed a really significant Elgar tradition together; they had played his music in countless concerts and, by my reckoning, this present release is their 13^th Elgar album; that’s a joint experience that money can’t buy and I think it shows in this new recording. As an example, I’d cite the tender closing pages of the Adagio third movement (from 9:14 on the new recording). In 2001, the Hallé produced excellent playing in these closing minutes of the movement. By 2021, ‘excellent’ has been replaced by ‘outstanding’: the orchestra moves and breathes as one and they make Elgar’s music a deeply moving experience…

The Scherzo brims over with energy and the trio material is played lightly and with a sense of fun. The transition to the Adagio is seamless, paving the way for Elgar’s great slow movement in an ideal way. What a stroke of genius it was for Elgar to transform so miraculously the scurrying violin theme from the start of the Scherzo into the beautiful first subject of his Adagio! The present performance is spacious and serene; the Hallé strings offer particularly rich and expressive playing, though the response of the entire orchestra is very fine. Throughout, the music is given the singing, glowing quality that it so deserves. The last few minutes (from 9:14, where Elgar brings in a tender reference to the motto theme) are played with seemingly effortless eloquence and the hushed coda (from 11:45) is conducted and played with great subtlety.

This is a marvellous, idiomatic performance of the symphony in which Elder and the Hallé are right on top of their game…

For whatever reason, it’s been several months since I heard either of these masterly symphonies. These performances by Mark Elder and the Hallé have come as a welcome reminder of the stature of each of these scores. In both symphonies we can hear what a formidable partnership Elder and his orchestra have forged together over the years. The earlier recordings of both symphonies were very good but I think that these later versions surpass them artistically because the relationship between conductor and orchestra – and their collective understanding of Elgar’s music – has audibly matured…

In summary, even if you have the earlier recordings in your collection I would urge you to hear these new versions." John Quinn, MusicWeb International

“The Hallé’s playing is simply glorious here – as fine, if not better, than any other orchestra. They can do pathos and tenderness, too, and the insistent strumming of the man orchestra under the oboe counter-melody half way through is especially effective. The coda, where dark, muttering forces are overcome by the gentle insistence of the threnody is sublime. The sparkling, mercurial Rondo is executed with great virtuosity and precision, culminating in a splendid explosion. The finale begins with a bluff geniality that I find most appealing, gradually transmuted into a rolling, “maestoso”; Elder achieves majesty but not at the expense of translucency. Despite the comparative leisureliness of his pacing – his is the slowest final here, even slightly slower than Sinopoli – Elder melds the succession of quicksilver ideas into a continuous narrative crowned by a serene conclusion – which, as with the First Symphony, recalls Götterdämmerung in its epic, yet hushed, finality.

My fleeting doubts regarding slower tempi apart, this is a deeply satisfying account – not as electrifying as Barbirolli’s but superbly played and redolent of a commanding understanding of Elgar’s uniquely protean musical idiom.” Ralph Moore, MusicWebg International

"Sir Mark Elder’s latest traversal of Edward Elgar’s two symphonies supplies orchestral playing of the highest level; Sir Antonio Pappano provides plenty of electrifying moments in a pairing of orchestral favorites." Jonathan Blumhofer, the arts fuse

"Sir Mark Elder’s newly released coupling of both completed symphonies with the Hallé Orchestra is like a nostalgic flashback. Like Gibson, he captures intuitively the right tempi, neither plodding nor impetuous, imbuing the detailed inner workings with ample latitude to express themselves. But Elder, who leaves the Hallé this summer after 24 years as music director, is very much his own man." Ken Walton, The Scotsman

"Elgar’s scoring can sound dense and unwieldy, but the Hallé timbre suits these pieces beautifully. Everything is audible, Elgar’s idiomatic divisi string writing especially telling, and there’s some gorgeous playing from principal oboe Stéphane Rancourt...

The first movement is ideally paced, the development’s creepy processional suitably unsettling. I find this work emotionally richer than its predecessor, the prevailing sense of unease never dispersing. The string playing is terrific, and it’s good to hear the harps so clearly. Horns are great too, especially in the first movement’s exultant coda. Elgar’s finale can sound as if it’s been borrowed from a different work, but Elder makes it hang together, the subdued ending which baffled contemporary audiences sounding here like a poignant leave taking. Good sleeve notes and engineering seal the deal: this set is well worth acquiring." Graham Rickson, theartsdesk