Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Symphony No 1 in A flat, Op 55
NDR Radiophilharmonie/Andrew Manze
rec. live, 18June 2022, Konzertkirche, Neubrandenburg, Germany
Reviewed as a download
NDR Radiophilharmonie 3617391810254 [52]

Sometimes, when I listen to this symphony by Elgar, arguably the greatest British work in the genre ever penned; I dream of what it would have been like to have been at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on the night of 3^rd December 1908. The great Hans Richter at the age of 65 had been with the Hallé since 1899 and that Thursday night concert featured the first performance of Sir Edward Elgar’s Symphony No. 1. The program was light: Mendelssohn’s Ruy Blas overture, Glinka’s Kamarinskaya and sundry arias performed by Pauline Donalda. Elgar’s symphony knocked the socks off everyone. After the adagio, he was called onto the stage to acclaim before the finale could begin. Much as I love the symphonies of Stanford and Parry, this is something quite different. The best thing was; everyone knew it was special from that very first night. London heard the symphony four days later and it spread around the world rapidly. It was born in Manchester though and us Northerners are proud of that!

Elgar 1 has been lucky on record since the very outset when it was recorded in Kingsway Hall in November 1930. For those sessions Fred Gaisberg and Lawrance Collingwood sat behind the control desks whilst Sir Edward himself stood before the LSO. The 11 sides of shellac still sound tremendous. The most recent records of the work have been from the Hallé themselves under Sir Mark Elder, recorded in 2021 (review) and the exciting Alexander Soddy with his Mannheim orchestra (review) recorded just a month later and released on Oehms Classics.

Andrew Manze is 60 years old now and has been conducting full time for 20 years. He was principal conductor of Hannover’s NDR Radiophilharmonie for nearly 10 years until 2023. In that period, he made many records, often as an accompanist in concerto discs but also including a complete Mendelssohn symphony cycle (review) and discs of Mozart (review) and Beethoven. At the same time for Onyx he recorded an excellent Vaughan Williams symphony cycle with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (review). Going further back he made some interesting discs (including a Brahms cycle) with the Helsingborg SO. Most readers will doubtless know that he is most encountered on record however, not with a baton in hand but with violin and bow. Andrew Manze’s legacy on his first instrument is legend.

This record from the NDR Radiophilharmonie is a digital issue only. It was recorded at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern festival of 2022. In terms of timings it sits nicely in-between the two recent versions I mentioned earlier. To the nearest minute, Elder’s expansive 55 minutes and Soddy’s sprightly 48 is met here by Manze with a timing of 52 minutes overall. The Radiophilharmonie are a superb orchestra in all sections and they clearly relish playing this masterpiece. Manze splits his violins antiphonally. The acoustic is airy and generous.

Mostly written in 1908 when Elgar had just turned 51, it is an intensely personal work and for me full of love and hope. Elgar’s mastery by this date with orchestration and form was immense. The way themes are developed and transformed throughout the symphony is genius and I never grow tired of listening to the work. Following with a miniature score is also highly recommended in this work, should you wish to admire the intricacies of this master craftsman’s handiwork close up.

The motto theme of the work, marked noble simplicity, is heard in the introduction and returns like an idée fixe throughout. When the allegro takes off at 3:18 (cue 5 in the score) it is in the surprising key of D minor. The first subject is agitated and restless, marked appassionato in the score, but it is contrasted with a wealth of delectable material presented as the second thematic group. This exposition, rounded off with a little codetta, leads into a huge development section beginning at 7:03 in this performance with that motto theme again in horns. Manze paces the allegro adroitly. He has a light touch and balances his large forces with skill. The woodwind are audible throughout the movement, not the case in many recordings of this piece.

There are several places where I noted attention to detail in the ebbing and flowing of the movement. Listen to the rising crotchets 4 bars before cue 24 (8:51), the careful steady build-up of tension nicely measured. Or what about those dotted quavers in oboe, harp and cellos just before cue 29 (10:31)? Carefully shaped phrases and little accents, like the motif at cue 30 in the winds, echoed in the strings, show an attention to the small details whilst keeping a firm grip on the bigger picture – a key attribute of a true Elgarian.

A Wagnerian figure in the cellos and basses (15:14) is prominent before the opening motif idea returns at 16:04 marking an end to the development section. Elgar’s recapitulation is quite short and based mostly on the pastoral themes of the second subject group. This magnificently constructed first movement ends in calmness; the dynamics graded down gently and with tenderness by these wonderful German musicians.

The second movement, a scherzo and trio is unrushed. The march is fresh, not as devilish as we sometimes here but alive. Winds shine in the gorgeous trio, with fairy-like gossamer string accompaniment. The decision to split the violins really pays off in this movement. Elgar writes so much detail and the wider string separation accentuates this I feel. At cue 89 in the score, semi-quavers in the cellos and basses and repeated minims in violins and bassoons are all the master needs to create that magical transition to the third movement. How is that possible? What beauty and mystery arises from such simplistic chord progressions. Max Harrison, who writes in a Chandos booklet note for the Bryden Thomson recording called it an “imperceptible change from energetic assertion to a stately flow of lyrical sound which brings us near to Heaven”. He had a little help from A.J. Jaeger with the end of that sentence but it is well put.

The serene noble adagio is dreamily conveyed by Manze. The sustained lines are exquisitely phrased and the mood is rapt. His pacing is very close to Elder’s and both come in around the 13-minute mark. Barbirolli’s recording for Pye Records in 1956, is for me the finest recording of the symphony. It was spread over three sides with the Cello Concerto on the fourth (André Navarra). It was recorded on one single December day in the Free Trade Hall, just as it had been given on that first night back in 1908. Sir John’s adagio was also 13 minutes long, give or take a few seconds. The Hallé violins play with a portamento that perhaps Richter would have recognised. It may be Barbirolli’s finest record with the Hallé. Nothing for me will ever surpass this version of the adagio and we can now hear it in stereo, which those good people who bought the old Pye LPs never could.

Manze’s strings play with vibrato and a lovely sway, completely appropriate to the pulse of the music. Cantabile markings at cue 96 or after cue 100 in the horns and cellos are superfluous really, Manze ensures the music sings throughout. Very nicely done.

The finale with its famous D minor lento introduction is another success. Elgar employs all manner of techniques here to affect his tonal ideas, sub-dividing strings frequently. The allegro begins with the upward crescendo of firsts and violas at 2:16 and from there we are plunged into the power and energy of the movement proper. The sound is well balanced throughout the work but here the clarity is particularly noteworthy. The woodwind cut through again and again and this is one of the things I enjoyed most in this performance. It is a smiling, positive account too, I can almost see the glow on the faces of the players and the twinkle in their eyes, such is the ardour and joy of their ensemble. The last pages before the coda are pure gold. Horns bray happily and strings surge forward. It is a wonderful ending and we hear the audience applause rounding off the performance.

Andrew Manze concluded his official tenure with the NDR Radiophilharmonie with a Brahms cycle. I managed to record this from the NDR digital radio streams broadcast at the time. It was a superb set of performances and a fitting end to his time in Hannover. As he has demonstrated with his Vaughan Williams cycle and this Elgar record, he is a very talented conductor and I hope we hear more British repertoire from him. I wonder if someone might surreptitiously slip a Bax score into his bag perhaps?

Philip Harrison