John C Fiset wrote:

>Glorious John produced many fine recordings over the years.  Here are
>just a very few that I listen to often.  The two Elgar symphonies, the
>Elgar Cello concerto with Jackie DuPre as soloist, Sir John was a cellist
>by training and it shows in his understanding of the music.

Not to mention that he was only the third person to play the Elgar
concerto (c1920 IIRC).  He knew this music from both sides.

>A great recording of English String music including a work by V. Williams
>and the Elgar Introduction and Allegro for string orchestra.

"A work"?  Heaven's, it's the Tallis Fantasia in what Ursula Vaughan
Williams calls probably the finest recording ever.

>A great two disc set of the music of Delius with the Halle Orchestra.

Yes, JB's Delius is IMHO every bit as fine as Beecham's but for some
reason often overlooked.

>A great Mahler 5th and Bruckner 9th.

Is this the B9 on BBC Legends?  He never did any Bruckner in the studio
AFAIK.

>An outstanding Sibelius Symphony #2 on the Chesky Label, to name just
>a few.

Just to sow a little confusion: JB recorded Sibelius 2 *six* times - he
obviously quite liked the piece - the first being in 1940 (or thereabouts)
with the PSONY as I believe the NYPO were still called then.  And let's
not forget that he as a) selected to succeed Toscanini in NY (OK
Furtwaengler was the obvious choice, as even AT admitted, but could
not/would not come for contractual reasons) and that, while savaged by
the critics, the orchestra actually *renewed* his contract.

Deryk Barker <[log in to unmask]>