Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Symphony No 1 in A-flat major, Op 55 (1908)
Symphony No 2 in E-flat major, Op 63 (1911)
Hallé/Sir Mark Elder
rec. live 30 September 2021 (No 1) & 23-25 October 2018 (No 2), Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK
Hallé CD HLD 7564 [2 CDs: 115]
Sir Mark Elder became Hallé music director in September 2000. He was knighted in 2008, appointed as a Companion of Honour in 2017 and it was big news when he announced he would stand down in August 2024. A new era has started and Kahchun Wong has become Hallé principal conductor and artistic advisor from September 2024. Elder now has the honour of being the Hallé conductor emeritus.
Prior to Elder’s arrival as Hallé music director, I had ceased attending Hallé concerts. Stanisław Skrowaczewski and Kent Nagano had each served a term as music director; looking back, that was a mainly uninspiring period of almost two decades. I felt that the Hallé had become rudderless. As music director for nearly a quarter of a century, Elder ensured that Hallé concerts were inspiring events and was also very successful in building the Hallé’s international reputation.
The Hallé is strongly associated with Elgar’s music, possibly more than that of any other composer, and helped establish his reputation. Elgar himself conducted the Hallé on several occasions. In 1908 his First Symphony was premiered by the Hallé under its principal conductor Hans Richter (1899-1911). Notably Sir John Barbirolli as principal conductor (1943-70) performed many of his works and the Hallé became renowned as an Elgarian orchestra, a reputation which under Elder I believe has been reestablished today.
As a leading advocate of British music, Elder has programmed numerous Elgar works. In 2011, I reported from a thrilling Bridgewater Hall concert with the Hallé under Elder performing Elgar’s First Symphony: ‘There are no better Elgarians around when Sir Mark Elder and his Hallé Orchestra take wing in music that just runs through their veins.’ Other remarkable concerts with the Hallé under Elder that I attended were Elgar’s three great oratorios, The Dream of Gerontius; The Apostles and The Kingdom. All three were recorded live on the Hallé’s own label.
In his seventies, Elgar commenced work on his First Symphony. Some of it was written during time Elgar spent in Rome in 1908. In four movements and scored for large orchestra, it was premiered by the Hallé Orchestra under Hans Richter in December 1908 at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester. It was a triumph; Richter expressed the view that the First Symphony was ‘The greatest symphony of modern times’ and the journal, The Musical Times, described the work as ‘An immediate and phenomenal success.’
In the lengthy opening movement, the famous section marked Andante. Nobilmente e Semplice becomes an integral part of the work. This long fifty-bar theme that appears throughout the work as a thread in various forms has a uniqueness and splendour. In this proud, dignified music, Elder ensures a highly effective pace and dynamic. Marked Allegro molto the Scherzo-like movement has a troubled impetuosity. By contrast, the central section is refined and introspective, rather airless in character.
Next is the Adagio, one of the greatest slow movements ever written. This is gloriously passionate music that held me spellbound. With Elder, this movement evokes an aching sorrow in me, maybe the pain of lovers parting. In the Finale, a Lento – Allegro Elder convinces amid the challenges of tempi, rhythm, weight and mood. The final restatement of the nobilmente theme reminds me of a State occasion in London. Elgar has written a generous conclusion, performed unerringly by the Hallé, both stirring in spirit and resplendent in colour. The recording is clear and well-balanced, with barely any audience noise except for the applause at the conclusion.
Elgar dedicated his Second Symphony to the memory of King Edward VII, who had died in 1910. At the head of the score, he added a quotation from a Shelley poem ‘Rarely, rarely comest thou, Spirit of Delight!’ He described his symphony as ‘The passionate pilgrimage of the soul.’ Elgar’s inspirations for the work remain matters of conjecture. Some say it was his response to the death of the King, or maybe an expression of feeling for his romantic muse, Mrs. Alice Stuart-Wortley nicknamed ‘Windflower’. Or perhaps a tribute to his close friend Alfred Rodewald who had died in 1903. Elgar himself conducted the Queen’s Hall Orchestra in the premiere in May 1911 as part of the London Music Festival. Distinct from the receptions given to both the First Symphony (1908) and his Violin Concerto (1910), the lukewarm response to it was a disappointment for Elgar.
In four movements and scored for large orchestra, the Second Symphony, although rather less popular than the First Symphony, is a richly scored and imaginatively lyrical work. Overall, I find the temperament of the work to be energising, gratifying and optimistic on the surface, yet never far away is an undertow of unsettling anxiety.
Elder applies practised control to the first movement, which is abundant with contrasting emotions, almost like mood swings. Several suggestions have been put forward as to the inspiration behind Elgar’s Larghetto movement. In 1910 Elgar had holidayed in Rome and Venice, where he was especially impressed by St. Mark’s Basilica. He also visited Tintagel in Cornwall, where his friend Alice Stuart-Wortley and her politician husband Charles had a property. Under Elder, the Larghetto evokes an anguished passion of a heartbreaking quality, that builds to a radiant climax. With focus and intensity, the Hallé produces an exceptional performance of real impact.
Marked Presto the third movement, a Scherzo–Rondo, was described by the composer as ‘very wild and headstrong.’ Upbeat and vital, Elder’s interpretation suggests to me images of gallant and rather fantastical characters. A magnificent contrasting passage from 4:50 to 6:00 is a threatening crescendo with pounding percussion evoking terror. The Finale a Moderato e Maestoso has a dignified character and is predominantly retrospective in mood. Maybe Elgar was reviewing the passing of an era that he may have considered as his halcyon years. Under Elder, the Finale comes across as a colourful and assured movement, replete with long-cherished dreams. Elgar provides calm at the conclusion; perhaps he considered the angst of the first three movements to have been stabilised, for now. The engineering team has provided first class sound with splendid clarity and balance, and the closing audience applause has been left in.
In both symphonies, Elder provides controlled and cohesive performances, and his choice of tempi is judicious. There is a striking conviction displayed by the Hallé and its playing is out of the top drawer, providing rich string playing, gleaming brass and brilliant woodwind.
Of the older, established recordings of Elgar’s First and Second Symphonies, my first choice is Sir John Barbirolli conducting the Hallé, for its elevated level of performance combined with genuine character. Barbirolli’s First Symphony was recorded in 1970 live at the Kings Lynn Festival on BBC Legends. The Second Symphony was recorded by Barbirolli at the Kingsway Hall, London in 1964.
These are not the first Hallé recordings of these Elgar symphonies under Elder. On the Hallé’s own label in 2003 and in 2004 respectively, they released the First Symphony (review ~ review ~ review) recorded in 2001 at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and the Second Symphony (review ~ review) recorded in 2003 at BBC Studio 7, New Broadcasting House, Manchester. Nonetheless, these Hallé accounts from 2021 (No 1) and 2018 (No 2) are my first choice among more recent digital recordings.
Michael Cookson
Previous reviews: John Quinn (April 2024) ~ Ralph Moore (May 2024)
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