his most glorious of symphonies. Anybody who thinks that only English conductors understand how to do Elgar would be proved wrong by this Japanese maestro's most majestic interpretation.
Y'ain't kiddin'. I regard Elgar's two completed symphonies as towering works in the repertoire: thematic genius, harmonic genius, orchestral genius, structural genius, thrills and spills aplenty - what's not to love? I also greatly admire Anthony Payne's realisation of the third symphony and find it incredibly moving. My personal favourites are James Judd and the Halle in No.1 (IMP PDC 2019) and Edward Downes with the BBC PO in No. 2 (Naxos 8.550635), but there are now, thankfully, so many recordings of these wonderful scores...
:)
