COMPOSERS: Bliss,Butterworth & Elgar,Vaughan Williams,Walton
LABELS: VAI
WORKS: Walton, Vaughan Williams, Bliss, Butterworth & Elgar
PERFORMER: BBC SO, Hallé Orchestra
CATALOGUE NO: Audio VAIA 1067-2 ADD mono
If I mention the uniqueness of Adrian Boult’s Elgar, you might justifiably say, ‘ah yes, but isn’t that already available on CD?’ Well, the answer there would be both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Certainly many of Boult’s post-war Elgar recordings are currently available. But if you want to hear the Introduction and Allegro, Enigma Variations, Dream of Gerontius Prelude, Sospiri and Imperial March (as well as key Vaughan Williams, Butterworth, Bliss and the world premiere of Walton’s Crown Imperial) played with the rigour, panache and nobility that were typical of Boult’s style pre-war, then VAI’s double-pack is an absolute ‘must’. Here the stiff upper lip isn’t beyond heartfelt confession, and the transfers are admirable.