Notes and Editorial Reviews
This 1932 recording amply deserves its reputation as a classic. The sound quality is obviously antique, but it is easily good enough not to be a distraction. The rapport between the teenage Menuhin and the septuagenarian composer is remarkable. Elgar gave himself considerable freedoms with his own music, holding the tempi back in the more luscious sections to give Menuhin time to indulge extravagant portamenti and trills, but at others cracking on with a somewhat peremptory bombast. The 1926 recording of the Enigma Variations is equally interesting but less satisfactory. Modern performances weave these idiosyncratic portraits into a coherent musical tapestry, whereas Elgar seems too conscious of the underlying personalities for the music
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itself to enjoy the freedom it needs.
-- Christopher Lambton, BBC Music Magazine
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Works on This Recording
1.
Concerto for Violin in B minor, Op. 61 by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Yehudi Menuhin (Violin)
Conductor:
Sir Edward Elgar
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1909-1910; England
Date of Recording: 07/1932
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London
Length: 49 Minutes 47 Secs.
2.
Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma" by Sir Edward Elgar
Conductor:
Sir Edward Elgar
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Royal Albert Hall Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1898-1899; England
Date of Recording: 1926
Venue: Queen's Hall, London, England
Length: 27 Minutes 16 Secs.
Sound Samples
Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op.61 (1998 - Remaster): I. Allegro
Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op.61 (1998 - Remaster): II. Andante
Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op.61 (1998 - Remaster): III. Allegro molto -
Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op.61 (1998 - Remaster): Cadenza (accompagnata: Lento) - Allegro molto
Variations on an Original theme ('Enigma') Op.36 (1999 Digital Remaster): Theme (Andante)
Variations on an Original theme ('Enigma') Op.36 (1999 Digital Remaster): I. C.A.E. (the composer's wife) (L'istesso tempo)
Variations on an Original theme ('Enigma') Op.36 (1999 Digital Remaster): II. H.D.S.-P. ( Hew David Steuart-Powell) (Allegro)
Variations on an Original theme ('Enigma') Op.36 (1999 Digital Remaster): III. R.B.T. (Richard Baxter Townshend) (Allegretto)
Variations on an Original theme ('Enigma') Op.36 (1999 Digital Remaster): IV. W.M.B. (William Meath Baker) (Allegro di molto)
Variations on an Original theme ('Enigma') Op.36 (1999 Digital Remaster): V. R.P.A. (Richard Penrose Arnold) (Presto)
Variations on an Original theme ('Enigma') Op.36 (1999 Digital Remaster): VI. Ysobel (Isabel Fitton) (Andantino)
Variations on an Original theme ('Enigma') Op.36 (1999 Digital Remaster): VII. Troyte (Troyte Griffith) (Presto)
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