BaL 17.01.26 - Elgar: Cello concerto

[Roger Webb]

CDC 747 329-2 is indelibly stamped in my brain as well from my record shop days...............

Along with 421 049-2 and 423 232-2 not doubt!

[Roger Webb]

No doubt you Warnered them where it would all end!

Out of the frying pan! Warners were no better!

[Ein Heldenleben]

En Garde! In my experience David Owen Norris (though in other ways a fine pianist and an entertaininhg broadcaster) is notorious for his odd preferences, so I shan't be surprised if he chooses a recording by an unknown cellist on an obscure label purely because of one aspect of the performance.

Two interpreters stand out for me (well, maybe three) . Harrison/Elgar is my favourite,especially in its recent 'accidental stereo' version by Lani Spahr. Then Tortelier, whom I prefer to any subsequent interpreter for his understanding of the score, and also Anthony Pini, whose fine early Lp with Eduard van Beinum should always be mentioned.

I have find memories of seeing Jackie play the work in concert, but I have to say I think her interrpetation of it, although a thrilling musical and spiritual experience, is too wayward to be a general recommendation.

Yes he does a bit…. “And the winner is …..the version played on the CD soundtrack of the film Tàr* “

*London Symphony

• Beale
• Kauer

[Ein Heldenleben]

My association with this recording is that it was probably my all-time best seller.....particularly at Christmas. I even remember the number of the first issue on CD....CDC 747 329-2. Until, true to form, EMI changed the packaging with a cardboard outer slip case - crucially with a different serial number than that used to order it. All my records, including the masterbags behind the counter, had the original number, now redundant. That this happened just before Xmas compounded the company's stupidity! For the first year in living memory this disc fell out of the charts!

Later EMI re-released the title without the confusing sleeve....but created yet another new serial number, thereby adding a further layer of confusion - oh, and they didn't bother to link previous serial numbers on their computer.....and refused to accept 'faulties' submitted under previous numbers!

We all know what EMI stands for!!!

To give you some idea of how awful they were a colleague of mine once overheard an A and R guy tell a major star they were being let go in a cafe right near the Wright’s Lane HQ.

[mikealdren]

En Garde! In my experience David Owen Norris (though in other ways a fine pianist and an entertaininhg broadcaster) is notorious for his odd preferences, so I shan't be surprised if he chooses a recording by an unknown cellist on an obscure label purely because of one aspect of the performance.

Two interpreters stand out for me (well, maybe three) . Harrison/Elgar is my favourite,especially in its recent 'accidental stereo' version by Lani Spahr. Then Tortelier, whom I prefer to any subsequent interpreter for his understanding of the score, and also Anthony Pini, whose fine early Lp with Eduard van Beinum should always be mentioned.

I have find memories of seeing Jackie play the work in concert, but I have to say I think her interrpetation of it, although a thrilling musical and spiritual experience, is too wayward to be a general recommendation.

I also like Tortelier and find the Du Pre too mannered. My first recording was the Ma/Previn which I've had for years and never liked, ~ I don't remember it being praised in years gone by but I'm surprised, they don't seem to understand Elgar at all.

[richardfinegold]

Eh…what does EMI stand for?

The Du Pre record is the 800 pound gorilla here. Do you think that a reviewer feels obligated not to choose it?

The version I listened to the most these days is with Alissa Weilerstein

https://open.qobuz.com/album/a8g9zwb0hm12a

[smittims]

EMI = Electrical and Musical Industries.Founded, I think, in 1931 by a merger of the English Columbia company with HMV, they went from boom to bust, at one time having The Beatles, Maria Callas ,Sur Thomas Beecham and Yehudi Menuhin on their books , but were sold to Warner's about ten years ago (?) .

I often think the history of EMI is a parable of the history of Britain i the 20th century. Didn't we almost have it all? What went wrong? Answers on a postcard please.

[Ein Heldenleben]

EMI = Electrical and Musical Industries.Founded, I think, in 1931 by a merger of the English Columbia company with HMV, they went from boom to bust, at one time having The Beatles, Maria Callas ,Sur Thomas Beecham and Yehudi Menuhin on their books , but were sold to Warner's about ten years ago (?) .

I often think the history of EMI is a parable of the history of Britain i the 20th century. Didn't we almost have it all? What went wrong? Answers on a postcard please.

The worst part was their failure to capitalise on the first commercial MRI scanner - largely an EMI development. They wanted to keep the whole business to themselves - they couldn’t get anywhere near meeting demand so their patents were infringed by competitors who soon outpaced them. Had they licenced the business from the off they could have been one of the worlds largest producers of medical diagnostics gear.

[Roger Webb]

Eh…what does EMI stand for?

Every Mistake Imaginable.

[Roger Webb]

The worst part was their failure to capitalise on the first commercial MRI scanner - largely an EMI development. They wanted to keep the whole business to themselves - they couldn’t get anywhere near meeting demand so their patents were infringed by competitors who soon outpaced them. Had they licenced the business from the off they could have been one of the worlds largest producers of medical diagnostics gear.

EMI's main development site was in the Wells, Somerset factory. I went for an interview as an electronics technician in the early '70s to develop their interest in studio mixing desks, having recently worked in a radio studio.....I didn't get the job! So took a job with a Bristol company that made the test equipment for Concorde.....that didn't last long, as interest quickly waned in that white elephant!

[Barbirollians]

I think that Tortelier/Boult was a serious overreaction to the du Pre/Barbirolli - it is grey, cold and dull . Tortelier is far more expressive in his outstanding mono recording with Sargent and his late recording with Groves. Boult far better with Casals. The Tortelier/Boult would be my first discard.

The du pre/Barbirolli deserves all the praise it has got over the years and is much my favourite recording . I could see a " library " choice being one of the excellent 'straight' recordings like Clein /Handley . .

In addition , I wouldnt be without Navarra/Barbirolli, Weilerstein/Barenboim , the Prague and Moscow live du pre accounts with Barbirolli , JLW /Menuhin either .

[akiralx]

Oh no, it’s the return of the DON!

Previous BaL recommendations:

Helen Wallace (Jun 14): Mork/Rattle + Wispelwey/van Steen as recommendation on single disc + du Pré/Barbirolli as historic recommendation

Yes, Wispelwey/van Steen is generally the one I listen to, his intensity in the closing pages is unbelievable.

[pastoralguy]

The worst part was their failure to capitalise on the first commercial MRI scanner - largely an EMI development. They wanted to keep the whole business to themselves - they couldn’t get anywhere near meeting demand so their patents were infringed by competitors who soon outpaced them. Had they licenced the business from the off they could have been one of the world’s largest producers of medical diagnostics gear.

So when Johnny Rotten sang “EMI -an unlimited supply…’’, he wasn’t being entirely accurate?

[richardfinegold]

Every Mistake Imaginable.

OK, that’s what I was seeking

[Petrushka]

I've got more versions than I thought I had:

Casals/Boult
Harrison/Elgar
Du Pre/Barbirolli (studio, and live in Prague)
Clein/Handley
Navarra//Barbirolli
Tortelier/Sargent
Mørk/Rattle

There is no way I would want to be without the 1928 Elgar recording with Beatrice Harrison or the justly famous studio du Pre/Barbirolli but if i had to choose just one I would go for Navarra/Barbirolli. Navarra eschews the more hysterical side of du Pre in a reading full of wistful melancholy that is the essence of Elgar. He is ably supported by Barbirolli, a cellist himself who one would have loved to hear in this work.