I still find it difficult
to think of the Hallé Orchestra
without thinking of JB because this
orchestra was the first, and for some
time only, professional orchestra I
heard, and I heard it during JB’s final
four or five seasons. My young ears
were opened to so much music – La
Mer, Images, Poulenc’s Double
Piano Concerto, Britten’s Violin
Concerto, Tchaikovsky 5, VW6 and
so much more, the best of all being
Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro
and the 1st Symphony.
As I wrote in my review of the Hallé’s
new recording of Elgar 1, Elder has
a lot of competition but he is a fine
musician who has his own ideas and vision
and can hold his own against all comers.
Indeed, so good is Elder with this band
that I will repeat what I said after
their Prom this year and state that
Elder is the best and most significant
MD of the Hallé since JB. His
Elgar alone proves this.
Introduction and
Allegro is a difficult piece to
bring off for it never does what is
expected of it. It grew from a suggestion
of Jaeger’s that Elgar write something
for the newly formed London Symphony,
perhaps a brilliant scherzo or something
of the like. From that suggestion grew
this masterpiece which is certainly
a scherzo but is also much more. Brilliantly
pitting solo quartet with an often hugely
divided string section Elgar has created
one of the glories of English music.
The orchestra pulls out all the stops
and Elder directs a performance of intelligence
with the "devil of a fugue",
as Elgar described the middle section,
not used simply as a display piece for
all concerned. The Hallé strings
don’t have that special sheen which
JB brought to them – but then how could
it? – but they’re resplendent in their
fullness and richness of tone. You cannot
afford to be without Barbirolli’s classic
account with the Allegri Quartet and
the Sinfonia of London (EMI Classics
CDM 5672402) but Elder runs JB a close
second.
The 2nd
Symphony is a turbulent work which
wasn’t understood at its première
in the wake of the death of the King
and the richness, and expansiveness,
of the language were not what was expected.
Today we can see it as one of Elgar’s
greatest works and we can, in the light
of his complete output, understand it
much better. The first two movements
are on the largest scale and contain
the most concentrated development. Elder
handles the ebb and flow of the argument
with an ease which speaks of years of
experience, he has got under the skin
of the music and knows how to present
it to best advantage; the elegiac nature
of the slow movement is wrapped in an
intensity rarely found in performances
of this work. The only blemish is the
first movement is at the moment before
the recapitulation where Elgar writes
a comma for the full orchestra, indicating
that we take a deep breath before plunging
ahead. Elder, inexplicably, ignores
this marking which seriously disrupts
the musical thought for this moment’s
pause is pregnant with expectation and
heightens the experience of what follows.
I hope that he will, in future, take
note of the comma!
The scherzo is fleet
of foot, magnificent playing from the
Hallé here, especially the exuberant
horns near the end. The finale contains
perhaps the most sumptuous string playing
in the whole work – just listen to playing
of the second subject on its reprise.
Glorious. The quiet coda, based on the
opening material of the whole work,
is a particular highlight of this performance.
Elder emphasises the elegiac qualities
without lingering in regretfulness.
Apart from the singular
blemish in the first movement this is
as good as it gets in recorded performances
of Elgar’s 2nd Symphony,
but don’t throw away your Barbirolli,
Boult, Elgar, Haitink, Handley and Thomson
recordings, simply add this marvellous
performance to your collection and be
grateful that there are still Elgarians
of this stature making such fine recordings.
Bob Briggs
Lyn Fletcher (violin), Ann Lawes (violin),
Timothy Pooley (viola), David Watkin (cello),
Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder 
