Elgar : Enigma Variations

BBC Symphony Orchestra - Leonard Bernstein

Released on 1982-01-01 by Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
Main artists: BBC Symphony Orchestra Leonard Bernstein
Genre: Classical

Available in

16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo

Unlimited Streaming

Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps

Start my trial period and start listening to this album

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Digital Download

Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

A true chameleon capable of changing colours and styles according to the works he directs, Leonard Bernstein recorded this album in London in 1982 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which he directed for the first and last time on this occasion. All during troubled times with Margaret Thatcher’s military response against Argentina following the events in the Falkland Islands. In this context, Bernstein, who hadn’t often come back to Great Britain since 1948, conducted the most patriotic music of all: the work of Sir Edward Elgar, first in concert, then for this recording released by Deutsche Grammophon. The collaboration with the BBC Symphony Orchestra didn’t start off so well… After arriving late because he had underestimated his travel time, Bernstein started the repetition with no apologies whatsoever, imposing on disgruntled musicians excessively slow or fast tempos, although always in connection with Elgar’s indications.
Today the most striking aspect of this recording is the finesse of interpretation, which takes into account Elgar’s numerous German and French influences that appear through extreme nuances and subtle sound layers. The famous variation Nimrod, approached very gently with a slowness that renders it almost unrecognisable, all of a sudden takes on a metaphysical dimension. For good measure, Bernstein added two of the famous marches from Pomp and Circumstance, the first one being more or less a secondary British national anthem. © François Hudry/Qobuz

More info

Elgar : Enigma Variations

BBC Symphony Orchestra

You are currently listening to samples.

Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.

Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.

From kr133,33/month

Enigma Variations, Op. 36 (Edward Elgar)

Theme. Andante

Leonard Bernstein

00:01:58

Leonard Bernstein, Conductor, MainArtist - Edward Elgar, Composer - Hans Weber, Producer, Recording Producer - BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hanno Rinke, Producer - Hans-Rudolf Müller, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Joachim Niss, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Karl-August Naegler, Balance Engineer, StudioPersonnel