The performances gathered into this budget-priced box are all very well known, but almost all of them would grace any Elgar collection. The exceptions are Solti’s somewhat rough and ready account of the Enigma Variations and Julian Lloyd Webber’s Cello Concerto; both are good, but simply not the best. Dutoit’s performance of Falstaff also lacks the gruff integrity that the music demands; it’s a professional job, but nothing more. On the other hand, Solti’s accounts of the two Symphonies are simply exciting as hell (has the scherzo of the Second ever been played with such maniacal savagery?), and the performance of the Violin Concerto with Chung also holds up to the competition extremely well.
Benjamin Britten’s rendition of The Dream of Gerontius stands out for its unselfconscious nobility of tone and some excellent solo singing, and he does the Introduction and Allegro proud. Mackerras and Della Jones give a rousing performance of the Sea Pictures, and the maestro’s Wand of Youth Suites, Dream Children, and The Starlight Express are all outstanding. That leaves Marriner’s fine reading of the Serenade and some shorter pieces along with Solti’s typically beefy attacks on Cockaigne, In the South, and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches to wrap up a real bargain of a collection, one no Elgarian will want to be without. Fine sound, intelligent notes, and the full texts of Gerontius and all of the other vocal items complete a very well planned package.
