Search - Edward Elgar, Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra :: Elgar: Symphonies Nos. 1& 2; Symphony No. 3 [elaborated by Anthony Payne]

Davis gives us deeply felt Elgar

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 05/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's good news and bad news to say that Colin Davis has become the perfect conductor for the music of Elgar. One expected much more from him long ago, but this once fiery Berlioz interpreter has morphed into a comfy keeper of the British flame, however low it flickers. Elgar's symphonies are bulwarks of empire in the memory of older Britons, and although they have never traveled well, either to America or Europe, one has to admire the composer's mastery of symphonic form, his gravely grand inspiration, and the undercurrent of civilized anxiety that provides mysterious shadings, particularly in the gnomic Sym. #2, which only the English can sit through with pleasure.



Davis feels this music and gets committed playing from the LSO under concert conditions. Also, for once his tempos don't drag. The First Sym. proceeds at the same pace as my favorite recording, Barbirolli's live reading with the Halle on BBC Legends. But the LSO plays far better and is captured in excellent sound. Anthony Payne's rendering of Elgar's unfinished Sym. #3 is beautifully done here, yet one has to wonder. How great is any composer if his sketches sound more vigorous and interesting than many of his finished works?"