Though the sound isn’t ideal – though it certainly is better than I expected – this is the most interesting Elgar I have heard so far.
Fastaff is fantastic; it feels like half of the first wave of film score composers adored it. And unlike so much programmic music, it actually sounds out the action, which is a rare feat to my ears.
The cello concerto is less impressive given when it was written, but it is still very solid. Certainly a good showcase for the instrument. And at least one of the movements is pretty famous.
The Nursery Suite is something else altogether. Like so much else of his I find myself thinking, ‘well this is all very nice but I know that there was a hell of a lot more interesting stuff being written at the same time.’
9/10