Beecham Royal Philharmonic Orcehstra - Sir Thomas Beecham Conducts Elgar (19 tracks) +Album Reviews

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Beecham, Royal Philharmonic Orcehstra
Sir Thomas Beecham Conducts Elgar
Genre: Classical

Track Listings (19) - Disc #1
1. Cockaigne Overture ('In London Town'), concert overture for orchestra & organ, Op. 40
2. Serenade, for strings in E minor, Op. 20: Allegro piacevole
3. Serenade, for strings in E minor, Op. 20: Larghetto
4. Serenade, for strings in E minor, Op. 20: Allegretto
5. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Enigma
6. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. I. (C.A.E.)
7. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. II. (H.D.S.P.)
8. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. III. (R.B.T.)
9. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. IV. (W.M.B.)
10. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. V. (R.P.A.)
11. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. VI. (Ysobel.)
12. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. VII. (Troyte.)
13. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. VIII. (W.N.)
14. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. IX. (Nimrod.)
15. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. X. (Dorabella.) Intermezzo
16. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. XI. (G.R.S.)
17. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. XII. (B.G.N.)
18. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. XIII. (***) Romanza
19. Enigma Variations, for orchestra, Op. 36: Variation No. XIV. (E.D.U.) Finale

CD Details

All Artists: Beecham, Royal Philharmonic Orcehstra
Title: Sir Thomas Beecham Conducts Elgar
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Sony
Album Type: Import
Genre: Classical
Styles: Forms & Genres, Serenades & Divertimentos, Historical Periods, Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1

CD Reviews

TB & Elgar

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 05/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recently I have begun buying titles in Sony's British Import series "Sir Thomas Beecham: The Original CBS Recordings" and I must say I am enjoying them very much. Virtually all of the CDs in this line feature mono performances from the early 1950s, but not only are some of them the conductor's best accounts of a given work, many of the selections are pieces TB never even made in stereo. Case in point, these Elgar recordings of the Cockaigne Overture, Serenade for Strings and Enigma Variations. Surprisingly, England's most famous conductor and composer rarely partnered, but Elgar did ask TB to record Enigma once technology had sufficiently improved as the composer was never truly happy with the rendition he laid down for posterity. Beecham obliged twenty years after the composer's death with this historic 1954 performance, the highlight of this CD. Sure there are better sounding stereo accounts out there, but none match the fire and intensity that Beecham offers here, not even fellow countrymen Boult or Barbirolli. In all, "Sir Thomas Beecham: The Original CBS Recordings" is a delightful series and I look forward to purchasing (and reviewing) more of them."