Edward Elgar : Symphonies 1 & 2 , Pomp and Circumstance Marches - Yehudi Menuhin
2 CD | EAC RIP | FLAC (image)+LOG+CUE | 640 MB | 77:26 + 72:25 | Covers + booklet
Classical | Label : Virgin Classics | Release : 1998
(review from Répertoire magazine : Guide éco des meilleurs CD classiques)
Ce disque est une réussite éclatante. Non seulement il s'agit du programme le plus complet et le plus homogène du catalogue, mais Menuhin le dépoussière au mieux des surcharges victoriennes, en misant sur le dynamisme. La puissance des masses orchestrales, judicieusement exploitées (cuivres et timbales dans "Pomp...", cordes dans "Coronation March") donne à chaque oeuvre son cachet.
(reviews from Gramophone.net)
Yehudi Menuhin and the RPO give here an Elgar First Symphony which ranks high among recorded performances. The outstanding features are the vitality and energy of the music, reflected in brilliant orchestral playing. The tempos are quick but this has not meant any loss of emotional power. Menuhin seems instinctively to realize that Elgar's music thrives on rhythmic liveliness, on swift transitions from phrase to phrase and from mood to mood.
It is important in repertoire like this for the recording to be suitably spectacular and spacious, and it is here. Recorded in Abbey Road Studio No.1, it does not have the extra resonance of a church acoustic (which many engineers now seem to favour), but that means the image is bright and well focused, without the microphones being too near, where there is no lack of a concert hall feeling. Moreover there is also a splendid organ sonority to add all the extra depth one could want, not only in the Pomp and Circumstance Marches but even more impressively in the big Coronation March of 1911, which needs the extra amplitude, for Menuhin takes it very slowly and grandly indeed. The Triumphal March from Caraciacus is also very big and bold with resonant brass.
Tracklist :
CD1
1-4. Symphony No.1
5-9. Pomp and Circumstance Marches
CD2
1-4. Symphony No.2
5. Coronation March
6. Empire March, from "Pageant of Empire"
7. Imperial March
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Yehudi Menuhin