Kevin Sutton ([log in to unmask]) wrote:

>Alan Moss wrote:
>
>>Kevin Sutton:
>>
>>>This account [Bernstein/BBCSO] of the Enigmas is, in my completely correct
>>>and uninhibitedly self confident opinion, the only way to play this piece.
>>
>>How about Elgar's own account?
>
>Well, I haven't heard it to tell you the truth.  But I also believe that
>the composer's own interpretation of a work is not always the best.

However, with Elgar he is at least as good as anyone else.  (And often
better, e.g.  his 1930 recording of the 1st symphony).

Elgar recorded the Enigmas twice, in 1920 (acoustic, in the Pearl set) and
1926 (electric, EMI).

Although the 1926 is better as a recording, I prefer the 1920 as an
interpretation.  Recorded just months after Lady E died, the first
variation (CAE) is heartbreaking.

Deryk Barker
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