Sir Edward ELGAR (1857-1934)
Symphony No 1 in A flat, Op. 55 [53:57]
Pomp and Circumstance March No. 5, Op. 39 [5:29]
Sospiri, Op. 70 [5:34]
Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20 [12:48]
Symphony No 2 in E flat, Op. 63 [59:06]
Overture: Cockaigne (In London Town)
Philharmonia Orchestra/Bernard Haitink (Sys); City of London Sinfonia/Richard
Hickox (Sospiri, Serenade); London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Adrian Boult
(Cockaigne)
rec. 20-21 April 1983, Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London (Sy 1, March); 22-23
March, 1984, No 1 Studio, Abbey Road, London (Sy 2) ; 16, 22 February 1984,
St, Barnabas’s Church, Woodside Park, London (Sospiri, Serenade);
29 September 1970, All Saints’ Church, Tooting, London (Cockaigne).
All DDD except Cocakigne (ADD)
EMI 20th CENTURY CLASSICS 907221 2 [77:49 + 73:58]
Bernard Haitink has made a sterling contribution to the musical life of the
UK over the last four decades or so, presiding with distinction at various
times over the London Philharmonic Orchestra, at Glyndebourne and at the Royal
Opera House as well as being an honoured guest on the podia of most of the
other major London orchestras. And in addition to contributing to British
musical he has absorbed the music itself, conducting and recording works by
composers such as Britten, Vaughan Williams - I find much to admire in his
recordings of the symphonies - and Walton.
I recall his recording of the Elgar Second Symphony - though it’s now
many years since I last heard it - but his recording of the First is new to
me. I enjoyed much of it though I have some doubts about the first movement.
The motto theme is unfolded at a stately pace - more broadly than I can ever
recall - and the succeeding allegro is conceived in quite a spacious
way. Haitink achieves considerable clarity through his patient approach and
here, and throughout both symphonies one has a strong sense of structure,
but I think he misses the fire and drive that the music of this first movement
requires. Haitink takes 22:02 for this movement. Just for comparison I investigated
a few versions at random from those on my shelves - choosing only studio-made
versions - and it’s instructive to see that Barbirolli, in his fairly
spacious 1962 account (EMI), comes closest to Haitink at 21:39. Sir Mark Elder
(2001, Hallé) requires 20:05 while Sir Adrian Boult (1976, EMI) takes
17:31 and Vernon Handley (1979, Classics for Pleasure) is even swifter, clocking
in at 17:03. I’ve never felt any lack of space or presence in either
the Boult or Handley readings but, listening to Haitink, I felt that the music
didn’t have quite sufficient momentum, though I admired a great deal
about the reading
Thereafter his way with the piece is much more to my taste. The Allegro
molto scurries along as it should and the account of the finale is impressive.
The highlight, however, is a finely sung performance of the Adagio.
The nobility of this music suits Haitink very well and his reading has poetry
and authority.
Returning to his reading of the Second Symphony after a long gap I was mildly
surprised to find that the story was rather the same as in the First in that
my reservations centred around the first movement and that the most distinguished
part of the interpretation was the slow movement. (The First was recorded
about a year before the Second).) The first movement opens promisingly and
overall I think Haitink brings off the faster music in this movement well.
I’m less sure about the passages of slower, more wistful music, however.
I feel that Haitink lingers just too much in these sections and at times one
feels the music is coming perilously close to getting becalmed. The elegiac
Larghetto is another matter. Haitink’s approach seems just right,
blending sorrow and dignity. The scherzo is full of vigour and builds to an
exciting climax. The performance of the finale is also a success: Haitink
seems in tune with the music’s various moods and here, as elsewhere
in both symphonies, his conception of the music is admirably supported through
excellent playing by the Philharmonia.
The other miscellaneous Elgar pieces fill the discs generously. Richard Hickox
leads affectionate, warm performances of the early Serenade and of Sospiri
- what a gorgeous little piece it is! Sir Adrian’s account of Cockaigne
is authoritative, though I have heard performances with a bit more sparkle.
For all that they have to commend them I don’t think that Haitink’s
performances of the symphonies could be considered as first choice, so anyone
investing in recordings of these works would be better advised to consider
Handley or Elder. That said, like everything that this fine conductor does,
these are thoughtful, well-considered and deeply musical accounts of these
great scores and I’m glad to have them in my collection. The EMI recordings
are good; the notes, in three languages, are brief but adequate.
John Quinn
Thoughtful, well-considered and deeply musical accounts of Elgar’s symphonies,
even if they are not first choices.