Paul Tortelier’s 1973 Elgar cello concerto with Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic still holds its own among today’s available recordings. You could always expect the unexpected from Tortelier: how many cellists offer so many different solutions in the fast-slow, bowed-plucked accompanied recitative prior to the scherzo, for example? Boult provides alert pointillist accompaniments here, and the blustering pick-ups after the cello’s bravura displays are finely caught by the orchestra every time. Tortelier’s playing isn’t always unblemished; listen closely and you’ll hear some fudged tape edits in the final section of the movement, perhaps where efforts to hide the soloist’s audible breath-intakes and sometimes annoying string-noise haven’t been completely successful. But the reflective Adagio is memorable for the lengths to which Tortelier stretches out Elgar’s sighing phrase-ends without destroying the rhythmic flow.
The finale is magnificently done, with Boult making the most of Elgar’s attempts to rekindle martial swagger in the big orchestral tuttis, and Tortelier playing with complete assurance, especially in the long 16th-note string-crossing passage, where the nicely balanced recording lets the wind interjections register pointedly. Tortelier always was wonderful in the final summing up; listen to how he manages the glissando up to the long-held B-natural, and then lets it die before the opening dramatic flourish is heard again at the start of the coda. It’s a fine and deeply-considered account of the concerto, full of points of musical and interpretive note, and sounding very well for its years in this vivid transfer. Two substantial fillers, Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Britten’s Young Person’s Guide (1977 EMI recordings by Charles Groves and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic) complete this useful budget disc.
