Edward Elgar - Symphony No. 1; Cockaigne (Sakari Oramo)

Information

Composer: Edward Elgar

• (01) Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55
• (05) Cockaigne (In London Town), overture, Op. 40

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor

Date: 2014
Label: BIS
http://bis.se/label/bis/elgar-symphony-no1

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Review

Here’s a welcome companion issue to Sakari Oramo’s account of Elgar’s Second Symphony (9/13). If the Finn’s view of its majestic A flat major predecessor doesn’t quite ignite the senses to the same degree, there’s still heaps to admire, not least the terrifically spruce and scrupulously dedicated contribution of the Royal Stockholm PO, as well as some splendidly ripe and transparent sound courtesy of the BIS production team.

Oramo’s commendably trim and purposeful conception is clearly the result of painstaking preparation and he certainly knows his way round the score; scarcely a fleck of detail escapes his eagle eye, and the antiphonally divided fiddles are an enormous boon. He is especially appreciative of the nature music in the first two movements: try the Trio section with its gently insistent drone and rustling of reeds (a passage which Elgar once memorably encouraged an orchestra to play ‘like something we hear down by the river’) – though not everyone will approve of the way he nudges on the brakes a little later on from fig 77 (4'29"). Perhaps, too, the slow movement misses out on the last ounce of rapt intimacy and lump-in-throat emotion – the towering Molto espressivo e sostenuto from fig 104 (8'27") right through to the end comes across as just a little calculated and doesn’t move me to tears in the way that, say, both the Solti or Boult’s astounding live 1976 Proms performance manage to every time. The finale, on the other hand, comes off swimmingly, its grandly opulent peroration and tearaway coda providing exactly the right rush of adrenalin.

The fill-up comprises a lustily vigorous account of Cockaigne but the music never really smiles as it should – I do miss the beaming affection and twinkling fun of those charismatic mono recordings from van Beinum or Barbirolli (in the stereo stakes Handley and Elder also spring to mind). Still, Oramo’s reading of the main work has enough in the tank to merit investigation by any Elgarian seeking a fresh view.

-- Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Jul14/Elgar_sys_BIS1879.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/31/elgar-symphony-no-1-review-sakari-oramo
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=12542
https://www.allmusic.com/album/elgar-symphony-no-1-cockaigne-in-london-town-mw0002692560
https://www.audaud.com/elgar-symphony-no-1-cockaigne-in-london-town-overture-stockholm-philharmonic-sakari-oramo-bis/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elgar-Symphony-Stockholm-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B00KGMTAKI
https://www.amazon.com/Elgar-Symphony-Stockholm-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B00KGMTAKI

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Edward Elgar (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, whose many works have entered international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies. He also composed choral works, chamber music and songs. Elgar has been described as the first composer to take the gramophone seriously. Elgar was the first composer to take the gramophone seriously, and made recordings of most of his major orchestral works between 1914 and 1925.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Elgar

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Sakari Oramo (born October 26, 1965 in Helsinki) is a Finnish conductor. He started his career as a violinist and concertmaster of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO), and studied conducting with Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy. From 1998 to 2008, Oramo was Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, with which he championed the music of John Foulds in concerts and recordings. He was Principal Conductor of the FRSO (2003-2012), and is currently Chief Conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (since 2008) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra (since 2013).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakari_Oramo

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