But it’s the one recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto that I would not want to live without. Clearly, he didn’t regard the piece as particularly doom-laden. Paul Tortelier, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Malcolm Sargent (1953) Testament SBT2025 . A powerfully passionate performance that propelled Du Pré into the limelight. For me, the cello concerto by Edward Elgar is one of the best pieces ever written for cello. Elgar himself described it as ‘a real large work and, I think, good and alive’. The concerto’s first complete recording, under the baton of Elgar himself. Barbirolli must have been the first to realise that du Pré’s interpretation was unlike any other. Pablo Casals, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Adrian Boult (1945) Warner Classics 7777634985. What we know of the work’s genesis reinforces this sombre impression. Jacqueline du Pré (cello), Gerald Moore, Roy Jesson, Osian Ellis, John Williams, Pinchas Zukerman & Daniel Barenboim, Daniel Barenboim London Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli Nuanced and refined – one of three recordings of the work made by the French cellist. The Edwardian world, his world, had been blown apart. Warner Classics: 5865972. Great price and service by the shippers. Helen Wallace compares recordings of Elgar’s cello concerto and makes a recommendation: Top recommendation - only available as a download or as a collected edition: 1 in Eb Major, Op. Save when you subscribe today and get your magazine + CD delivered direct to your door from the UK! 10 It still is. The release of the film, Hilary & Jackie, has created a fresh wave of interest in the genius of Jacqueline du Pré. What is the best recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto? 107 (1959) Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. One way to answer that is to dig out the 1928 recording that the composer conducted, with Beatrice Harrison as soloist. In this newer Sea Pictures Barenboim is joined by mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin, as in his previous recordings for the current series, which included Symphonies 1 and 2, the Cello Concerto, and “The Dream Of Gerontius”. Which is exactly what du Pré did, over and over again, when she performed this work. He had turned 60 and just undergone a throat operation. Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. The mood is much darker on a recording made in 1999 by the Norwegian cellist Truls Mørk with Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. 191. We name the very best performances of Elgar's Cello Concerto, Beatrice Harrison, New Symphony Orchestra/Edward Elgar (1928) Naxos 8.111260. You can unsubscribe at any time. What was the impact of World War One on music. When the soloist’s bow bites into those stark E minor chords, it’s like a summons – and not to cocktails and a gossip. Save when you subscribe today and get your magazine + CD delivered direct to your door from the UK! Lovingly accompanied by André Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra, he creates a stunning sonic landscape: misty, mellow, very Cotswoldsy. This article by Richard Morrison was first published in the May 2004 issue of BBC Music Magazine. She opted for audaciously slow speeds and even more daring dynamics, often producing something between a whisper and a whimper, and intensifying the solo line with old-fashioned portamenti. Perhaps in her later recordings (three live-concert versions; one for television) she overdid the soulful angst. Previous News The Liszt Concertos. It pulses with a particularly intense nostalgic melancholy which Edward Elgar could tap into so well, and creates an unforgettable atmosphere of profound yearning. His recording was considered the best available at the time. Granted, the versions of Sol Gabetta and Nigel Kennedy are … You can unsubscribe at any time. The Very Best of Jacqueline Du Pré. Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason recording the Elgar Cello Concerto with Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, in June 2019 at Abbey Road Studios. Her name was Jacqueline du Pré. I was delighted with Dame Janet Baker singing the songs of Sea Pictures. 85, his last notable work, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire. 85, his last notable work, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire. Parlophone ASD 655/Electric Recording Company ERC044 180g … Already have an account with us? Mørk turns the piece into an epic trudge through ominous terrain. Elgar allows Harrison to pull the music around, but in the orchestral passages he surges on with amazing zest. Elgar / Bach, Cello Concerto, 2 Suites, Barbi/du Pré - Testament My favorite modern recording has got to be Jamie Walton's. 126 (1966) I could not find recommended recordings of these concertos. You have to feel sorry for cellists. • Podcast: Alisa Weilerstein plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto. What is the best recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto? Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. William Henry Squire (1871-1963) (Faure dedicated his "Sicilienne" to Squire) recorded the concerto in 1936. Sign in to manage your newsletter preferences. Seven years after John Barbirolli conducted André Navarra’s version of this concerto in … The concerto may be the work of Elgar's with the most universal appeal, but, paradoxically, it is the work of his that is most rooted in a specific moment in time. Casals’s approach is heavily romantic – too much so for some listeners at the time. Share Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor Carter: Cello Concerto Bruch: Kol Nidrei. By entering your details, you are agreeing to Classical Music terms and conditions and privacy policy. Buy 3 CDs online. This time the soloist was a British sensation, just turned 20. What you find comes as a bit of a shock. The two-hour show will conclude with Julian’s complete performance of the Cello Concerto, which he recorded in the mid-1980s alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , under Yehudi Menuhin . 2, Op. Click here to subscribe to BBC Music Magazine, Sea shanty TikTok viral star Nathan Evans signs record deal with Universal, Free Download: Paul Wee plays Thalberg’s L’art du chant appliqué au piano. Yo-Yo Ma (cello); London Symphony Orchestra/André PrevinSony G010002679548T. Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. On the concerto’s final page he even wrote ‘RIP’. Let us know in the comments below. Pablo Casals, Paul Tortelier, Jacqueline du Pré and Yo-Yo Ma are among the cellists who have made landmark recordings of Elgar's concerto, and memorable new interpretations continue to appear. Recordings & Books. Johannes Brahms, who had a great influence on Dvořák, was blown away when he first heard it. Somewhere between du Pre’s hyperactive romanticism and Steven Isserlis’s monkish austerity [in his early first recording in 1988] is Yo-Yo Ma. Get 2 years for the price of 1 when you subscribe to BBC Music Magazine today! It is paired with the Lutoslawski Cello Concerto, which I don't much care for, but the Elgar is fantastic. Julian Lloyd Webber’s own recording of the concerto was deservedly acclaimed for its understated passion. • Review: Truls Mork plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto. 85 by Edward William Elgar (1857-1934). It was the Peresson cello that du Pré played for the remainder of her career until 1973, using it for a second, live, recording of the Elgar Concerto, and her last studio recording, of Frédéric Chopin's Cello Sonata in G minor and César Franck's Violin Sonata in A arranged for cello, in December 1971. Elgar / Myaskovsky, Cello Concertos, J.Walton - Signum...although what the English types don't seem to be noticing: the real kicker on that disc is the marvelous Myaskovsky concerto! 1 in Eb Major, Op. Erato 5453562. Jacqueline du Pré, LSO/John Barbirolli (1965) Warner Classics 2564607600. To pile misery on misery, Elgar accurately sensed that taste had turned against him – a suspicion cruelly confirmed when the grossly under-rehearsed premiere of this concerto was received with indifference in November 1919. next News La musica è … Journal. But the… Sign in to manage your newsletter preferences. • Exclusive video: Jacqueline du Pré performs The Trout, Beatrice Harrison (cello); New Symphony Orchestra/Sir Edward ElgarNaxos 8111260. Six of the best recordings of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Click here to subscribe to BBC Music Magazine, reviews of the latest Elgar recordings here, Sea shanty TikTok viral star Nathan Evans signs record deal with Universal, Free Download: Paul Wee plays Thalberg’s L’art du chant appliqué au piano, The best recordings of pianist Martha Argerich, 10 of the best concertos for unusual instruments. Paul Tortelier, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Malcolm Sargent (1953) Testament SBT2025. Which recordings of Elgar’s Cello Concerto made since then would you add to the list? He never completed another major work, though he lived for 15 more years. I bought this CD for Elgar's cello concerto; a seminal piece with its lingering melancholy and lyrical beauty. With so many cellists, so many very different interpretations, we search for an account of Elgar's much-loved Concerto that best captures the work's emotional heartland. Many friends were dead. • Why is ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ played at the Proms? Buy from Amazon Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. Elgar recorded the concerto with himself conducting in … The best recording. "There can be few more prestigious engagements for a British cellist than performing Elgar's Cello Concerto at the First Night of the Proms. But I also love the more recent recording by Peter Wispelwey with Jac van Steen/Netherlands Radio Philharmonic on Channel Classics. Award-winning cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason returns with Elgar, a new album of works anchored around Elgar's Cello Concerto - arguably the best-known work in the classical canon written for solo cello Free delivery on online orders of $119.99 or more anywhere in Australia And in the fiendish second movement, where several cellists don’t quite convince in technical terms (including the otherwise dignified Julian Lloyd Webber), Ma gives a model demonstration of how to deliver those scampering semiquavers with rock-steady clarity and intonation. Nuanced and refined – one of three recordings of the work made by the French cellist. Jacqueline du Pré (cello); London Symphony Orchestra/Sir John Barbirolli Warner Classics 6230752. Elgar began recording his works in 1914, beginning with the freshly-composed Carissima and continuing mostly with other short, light pieces, plus heavily abridged four-sided (16-minute) versions of his 50-minute Violin Concerto (1916, with Marie Hall) and half-hour Cello Concerto … Elgar Cello Concerto/ Sea Pictures Jacqueline Du Pré, Janet Baker, Sir John Barbirolli Conducting the London Symphony Orchestra E.M.I. 126 (1966) I could not find recommended recordings of these concertos. The exceptional disc that won Weilerstein the BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Year in 2014. Her 1971 recording with Daniel Barenboim, for instance, seems almost a self-parody. But is such morbidity valid? Actually, if restricted to just one concerto recording of any kind, this is the one I would pick - an easier decision than which recording of it to choose. His timbre is like the delicate brush-strokes of a great watercolourist. Elgar began writing it towards the end of the First World War. Elgar himself said that this concerto summed up ‘a man’s attitude to life’, and I think this places an obligation on intepreters to dig deep into their own souls. • Podcast: Alisa Weilerstein plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Jacqueline du Pré (cello); London Symphony Orchestra/Sir John BarbirolliWarner Classics 6230752. Elgar & Carter Cello Concertos. Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. The 20-year-old soloist will release his new album, Elgar, on Decca Classics on 10 January 2020. Hers is not a performance that I would want to live through every week. In 1987, Julian picked up a Brit Award for his recording of the concerto, which is still considered by many to be the best interpretation of Elgar’s great work. I know some versions of this piece, but the interpretation of Jacqueline du Pre is unmatched and hard to beat. Elgar composed it in the aftermath of the First World War, when his music had already gone out of fashion with the concert-going public. Browse: Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. By entering your details, you are agreeing to Classical Music terms and conditions and privacy policy. The popularity of the Elgar Cello Concerto continued to grow, but slowly. But back in 1965, guided by the wise and humane Barbirolli, she achieved a much more satisfactory balance between head and heart. 85 This page lists all recordings of Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. Alice, his stalwart wife, was ailing. There are far fewer concertos for their instrument than for the piano or violin, and of the ones which exist, only two are generally considered masterpieces. It says something for Paul Watkins' standing, then, that that's exactly what he did in 2007, in a widely-praised performance with the … Compared to his other concerto, written ten years earlier for violin and a large orchestra, the cello concerto is much more subdued and introvert, and requires a much smaller orchestra to realize it. • Elgar’s Enigma Variations… what to listen to next. • Review: Yo-Yo Ma plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Truls Mork (cello); City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle All this suggests that the composer was feeling pretty low. Register now to continue reading Thank you for visiting Gramophone and making use of our archive of more … Lloyd Webber’s recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor was made in July 1985, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yehudi Menuhin. No wonder that some cellists play the piece like a requiem. The coupling is a logical one: the cello concertos of Elgar and Walton, played by British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, an empathetic artist with a special affinity for English cello literature. Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto was the last concerto he wrote. Alisa Weilerstein, cello Daniel Barenboim, conductor Staatskapelle Berlin. I … This recording with Jacqueline du Pre is a superb performance. 107 (1959) Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. Elgar's Cello Concerto may now, courtesy of the Jacqueline du Pré, be better known but the Violin Concerto has always struck me as the finer work. In contrast with Elgar's earlier Violin Concerto, which is lyrical and passionate, the Cello Concerto is for the most part contemplative and elegiac. Julian Lloyd Webber, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Yehudi Menuhin (1985) Philips 416 3542. Along with Saint-Saëns’ Concerto N. 1 many consider it to be the greatest work written for cello and orchestra. The question is, did Elgar really imagine the piece as unrelenting tragedy? Explore our selection of the best Elgar works featuring 10 masterpieces including the ‘Enigma Variations’ and his Cello and Violin Concertos. And Rattle, a superbly responsive accompanist, enhances this sense of a figure battling against malevolent fate like some woebegone Thomas Hardy heroine, by bringing out the thickest, deepest sounds he can find in Elgar’s orchestration. 2, Op. Elgar's Cello Concerto: Recommended Recordings Gramophone Tuesday, October 27, 2015 Our guide to the best recordings of Elgar's Cello Concerto. One is by Dvořak, and the other – just in case you hadn’t guessed – by Elgar. Alisa Weilerstein Staatskapelle Berlin/ Daniel Barenboim (2013) Decca 478 2735. Seven years after John Barbirolli conducted André Navarra’s version of this concerto in 1958, he found himself recording the Elgar again. Few concertos begin as ominously as Elgar’s for the cello. Much of the music is vitality itself. Already have an account with us? Showing 1 - 10 of 138 results "Jackie", as she was called, was the greatest cellist of her generation, and many people consider her the finest interpreter of Elgar's Cello Concerto.The film is based on the book A Genius in the Family by du Pré's sister Hilary and her brother Piers (Chatto & Windus, 1997). With the Lutoslawski Cello Concerto that I would want to live without real large work and, think! 60 and just undergone a throat operation he never completed another major work is... Dame Janet Baker singing the songs of Sea Pictures Elgar allows Harrison to pull the Music around but. Decca 478 2735 our selection elgar cello concerto best recording the Concerto in E minor,.. Delivered direct to your door from the UK that some cellists play the piece as particularly doom-laden consider. Jac van Steen/Netherlands Radio Philharmonic on Channel Classics after John Barbirolli Warner 2564607600. 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