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Enigma Variations

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Posted on May 6, 2016 at 09:34:09
Tadlo
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Posts: 1925
Location: midwest
Joined: March 8, 2003
 I heard the CSO do the Elgar Enigma Variations last night and now realize I don't have a really good recording of it. Could I get some recommendations that are especially good with Nimrod? Thanks in advance.

 

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A couple of versions available in hi-rez are good, posted on May 6, 2016 at 09:50:23
Chris from Lafayette
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Yes, I enjoyed the Michael Stern recording, even though his father's feet smelled to high heaven! (Sorry for the obscure reference - it's to one of our Isaac Stern free-for-alls we had on this board a couple of years ago!)

I also like the traditional favorites too (Boult, Barbirolli). The Mehta/LAPO is also excellent IMHO. In fact, I don't think I've heard a recording of the Enigma Variations that I've disliked. (I've only read about the notorious Bernstein DG recording, with its imposition of complete stasis on the Nimrod variation - LOL!)

 

RE: A couple of versions available in hi-rez are good, posted on May 6, 2016 at 11:20:01
srl1
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I somewhat like the Bernstein. Once a year or so the slow Nimrod really works! Or you can just imagine it is Celibidache... :)

 

RE: A couple of versions available in hi-rez are good, posted on May 6, 2016 at 11:25:32
Tadlo
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 Thanks. I remember the Stern exchange. I didn't know that Isaac had a son who conducts. I like some of Bernstein's stuff from his slow period. I can imagine him extracting every drop of feeling out of the Nimrod score.

 

RE: A couple of versions available in hi-rez are good, posted on May 6, 2016 at 12:17:35
Tadlo
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Posts: 1925
Location: midwest
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 Okay I listened to it on Youtube. Too slow for me and mostly devoid of shape, although the string tone was nice. The performance I heard last night was conducted by Runnicles, who I had never hear of before. The climaxes where magnificently phrased, with some very nice well places slight pauses.

 

Runnicles, posted on May 6, 2016 at 15:44:59
Amphissa
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 Possibly one of the best conductors nobody ever heard of. He was conductor of the San Francisco Opera orchestra when I lived out there. Is he still making appearances there?

He was conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke's for some years, including some of my years living in NYC. And he was the primary conductor of the Atlanta Symphony when I lived in Georgia.

So I've seen him quite a lot.

He's been the conductor of the BBC Scottish for some years, and one of the Berlin Opera orchestras as well.

He's not eccentric enough, volatile enough, or controversial enough to ever be considered among the "great" conductors. But he is reliably steady on the podium and has enough insights into the music he conducts to make most of his concerts worth attending.


"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

 

RE: Enigma Variations, posted on May 6, 2016 at 16:07:55
Todd Krieger
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 This Elgar work never really did much for me.... But.... There is a performance of "Nimrod" that I think just towers over others I've encountered..... The bad part is only "Nimrod" was performed, not the entire Enigma Variations. It was the opening piece of a concert. The sound quality is excellent by YouTube standards.

Vladimir Ashkenazy and the NHK Symphony Orchestra.... 2006.

 

Funny I was there too and it was magnificent...., posted on May 6, 2016 at 17:34:16
kuma
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Posts: 10273
Location: IN
Joined: July 8, 2001
 but thought his Nimrod was too fast and wished Dorabella was lively as Monteux's. :/

This is a beautiful rendition of Nimrod by Boult/LPO but might be too downer for you.

But other of my faves are:



Runnicle subbed for Van Zweden 2 years ago and I enjoyed his Mahler's 5th!
Loved his Death and Transfiguration, too.
I was sort of surprised that many left after the first half of the program and the house wasn't filled.

 

SOOOO different from his recording on EXTON with the..., posted on May 6, 2016 at 19:30:15
Ivan303
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Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
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Sydney Symphony Orchestra above.


First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

Stokowski and Sinopoli are my go-to versions, posted on May 6, 2016 at 20:07:59
jdaniel@jps.net
 Sinopoli's stint with the Philharmonia so upset the Brits but IMHO there were some winners, including the enigma variations. A very, very grand finale gives me chills every time. The Nintendo rod is quite beautiful as well. A touch indulgent and inner voices unusually pronounced.

Stokowski live with the Czech Phil is absolutely charming, not a boring moment throughout. The Nimrod is a bit Mahlerian.

Best recorded, likely the Mehta in LA. It's a very "clean" performance, IIRC. Tas listed.

I don't get the fuss over the Monteux, nor did Boult or Barbirolli do it for me.

PS--listening to Elgar's own was mind blowing. Talk about a fast Nimrod!

 

He conducted a spectacular "Les Troyens" here in San Francisco last year..., posted on May 6, 2016 at 21:00:24
Ivan303
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Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
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 "Runnicles' reading is easily the most eloquent and sweeping. There was never a moment when things seemed to be on automatic pilot. Each aria, duet or ensemble came through as a show-stopper. Runnicles approach was leisurely, yet infused with drama and energy, and the daring slow pace exposed the orchestra's fine balances and intonation."

Couldn't agree more!






First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

RE: Enigma Variations-While You Decide . . ., posted on May 7, 2016 at 07:25:14
Mel
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Posts: 2993
Location: New York City Area
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 . . . enjoy this version by a Russian Orchestra playing this very British piece.

I heard this same band playing Nimrod as an encore. Very moving, and exceptionally strong strings.

 

Barbirolli still does it for me. -nt, posted on May 7, 2016 at 10:34:10
Jim Treanor
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 .
Jim

 

I wonder if anyone knows the joke about , posted on May 7, 2016 at 11:08:05
oldmkvi
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Posts: 10583
Joined: April 12, 2002
 the Violinist practicing the runs from the Enima Variations...

 

Well? nt, posted on May 7, 2016 at 11:26:33
Rick W
 nt

 

Ok, Ok, well..., posted on May 7, 2016 at 12:27:50
oldmkvi
Audiophile

Posts: 10583
Joined: April 12, 2002
 There was this Violin Player, see?
And he was practicing.
Later, that same day he finally got the Runs.
You know, from the Enima Variations, see?
Come to think of it, it's a Pun, not a joke.
Not the Best Pun, but a Pun.
Kind of a Run Pun...

OK, two week suspension for me.

 

Agreed -nt, posted on May 7, 2016 at 12:45:52
Kal Rubinson
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I attribute you posting that to way too much clarinet playing. nt, posted on May 7, 2016 at 12:53:29
Rick W
 nt

 

Thanks, that was a good one. nt, posted on May 7, 2016 at 13:41:27
Tadlo
Audiophile

Posts: 1925
Location: midwest
Joined: March 8, 2003
 .

 

Thanks, I did not know of this conductor. nt, posted on May 7, 2016 at 13:51:45
Tadlo
Audiophile

Posts: 1925
Location: midwest
Joined: March 8, 2003
 .

 

RE: Runnicles, posted on May 7, 2016 at 14:00:34
Tadlo
Audiophile

Posts: 1925
Location: midwest
Joined: March 8, 2003
 Thanks for that information. The CSO concert I heard Thursday evening also included the Britten, Sinfonia da Requiem and Strauss' Death and Transfiguration. It was all beautifully played. The closing pages of the Strauss was overwhelming.

 

RE: Funny I was there too and it was magnificent...., posted on May 7, 2016 at 14:13:07
Tadlo
Audiophile

Posts: 1925
Location: midwest
Joined: March 8, 2003
 I hope I will be able hear the WFMT broadcast of the concert when it comes around and check how it seems then. Nimrod didn't seem too fast to me Thursday. I thought it was beautifully shaped. But I was a little bummed out by someone who dropped his junk just as the final chord was winding down. Did you hear that? And what did you think of the Strauss?

 

You really need to drop the "i"..., posted on May 7, 2016 at 14:53:59
musetap
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  Since: January 28, 2004
 and insert the proper "e" in that for it to work in print.

Otherwise it's just crap.

"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure



 

I heard that same encore with the same band and conductor, posted on May 7, 2016 at 16:01:26
Chris from Lafayette
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 Likely a different concert however. (The one I saw was at Davies Hall and featured J-Fi playing the Beethoven Concerto.)

 

It's just that, well, once you finally get a , posted on May 7, 2016 at 16:21:24
oldmkvi
Audiophile

Posts: 10583
Joined: April 12, 2002
 NOTE in tune with ANYONE, SOMEONE, well,
you start to think, Hey, maybe I can do other stuff too.
Maybe, Oh , I don't know, be funny on the Internet.
But there's no carry-over.
Not even to the next note.
It takes a Toll, as you said...

 

That's indeed is a beautiful Nimrod. I like it..., posted on May 7, 2016 at 18:23:21
kuma
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Posts: 10273
Location: IN
Joined: July 8, 2001
 He is giving notes to breath longer than Runnicle/CSO live set last night.

 

He was at the Orhcestra Hall back in March..., posted on May 7, 2016 at 18:28:39
kuma
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Posts: 10273
Location: IN
Joined: July 8, 2001
 with Dennis Matusev olaying Prokofiev No.3 & Brahms Symphony No.2.

This was a recital I'll never forget!

 

Thank You, make it a 3 week suspension. nt, posted on May 7, 2016 at 19:21:18
oldmkvi
Audiophile

Posts: 10583
Joined: April 12, 2002
 /

 

Speaking of someone dropping someithing..., posted on May 7, 2016 at 20:11:28
kuma
Audiophile

Posts: 10273
Location: IN
Joined: July 8, 2001
 For the Chicago debut of the Arcanto Quartet recital last year, someone on the first row dropped his phone on a hard concrete floor. This was at a Mandel hall without any carpeting. That sharp sound resonated through the hall and totally ruined the poignant ending of Smetana's 'From My Life' for me.

What bothers me most tho is audience hacking coughing as well as for those who are eager to applaud prematurely. Some tunes just need a silence to reflect.
I did hear some noise at the ending but I have heard worse!

I loved his Strauss ( much better than his Telarc CD with Atlanta) and enjoyed it more because it was so much more dynamic and expansive than Haitink/CSO's Alpine Symphony performance just a week earlier.

I still prefer Sinopoli/Staatskapelle Dresden set, tho. ( it's a bit more pictorial )

 

OMG I just got it! Nt, posted on May 7, 2016 at 20:52:35
jdaniel@jps.net
 .

 

I'm Back, Baby...!, posted on May 7, 2016 at 21:03:14
oldmkvi
Audiophile

Posts: 10583
Joined: April 12, 2002
 With thanks to George Costanza.

 

Waleed Howrani..........., posted on May 7, 2016 at 23:41:56
Todd Krieger
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Posts: 37333
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000

He composed a song of that very title.......

 

RE: Speaking of someone dropping someithing..., posted on May 9, 2016 at 06:51:10
Tadlo
Audiophile

Posts: 1925
Location: midwest
Joined: March 8, 2003
 The noise sounded like some dropped a handbag, and it was close to where I was so it sounded pretty loud. But it was not as bad as the cell phone that went off as the last chord of Otello was ending at the Lyric several years ago.

 

Cell phone...., posted on May 9, 2016 at 11:18:27
kuma
Audiophile

Posts: 10273
Location: IN
Joined: July 8, 2001
 The most annoying.

Poor Cedric Tiberghien's debut concert was marred by not just one, THREE cell phone going off at the beginning of the program and he had to start over THREE times.

He was pretty laid back about the whole thing unlike some prima donna for sure they would have walked out.

 

Which one? I'm usually a big barbirolli fan. Nt, posted on May 9, 2016 at 13:34:48
jdaniel@jps.net
 N

 

RE: Enigma Variations, posted on May 12, 2016 at 08:21:13
garrod
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Posts: 1391
Location: surrey
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 I'm not surprised that Enigma does nothing for you if you rate Ashkenazy's Nimrod. That is not Elgar. Speaking as a Brit, I am shocked to find myself saying that the Russian performance by Temirkanov of the Enigma Variations most definitely is! I enjoyed the performance enormously.

 

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