# Barbirolli's 1964 Boston live Elgar 2 - different versions?



## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

I was listening today to this 1964 live performance of Elgar's 2nd symphony, played by the Boston SO under John Barbirolli:






I found it a wonderful performance, maybe even better than his two accounts with the Hallé. The BSO is clearly the superior orchestra, even if they couldn't be very familiar with the music at that time.

When I check for commercial avialability of this performance, some strange things happened.
The youtube video claims it's from January 7th, 1964.
Then this link mentions July 7 instead:
https://crqeditions.bandcamp.com/al...ony-orchestra-symphony-hall-boston-07-07-1964
And then there's this, which insists it's from november 7th...
https://www.norpete.com/c1509.html

Interesting enough, the two last links have about the same timings, they're probably the same performance. But the first movement is half a minute shorter in the youtube version!

So my question to the Barbirollians out there: how many live recordings circulate of Barbirolli/Boston/Elgar 2? And what's the best way to obtain it?
There seems to be a a twofer on Memories and an edition by Music & Arts, but I can't find any info on recording dates.


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

The Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives lists two performances for Barbirollli and Elgar's 2nd Symphony on November 6 and 7 1964.

He also conducted a suite of dramatic music by Henry Purcell and Franz Joseph Haydn's Symphony 92 "Oxford".


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I had no idea Glorious John did the Elgar 2 in Boston. Will definitely give this a listen. Not exactly Munch repertoire!


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

As others have said, Barbirolli was only in Boston on the 6th and 7th November 1964 (he'd just come off a tour of Latin America). The big variations in timing, on live recordings, are usually in the first and final movement depending on where the master has been stopped or faded out for audience but it's not uncommon for classical cd timings to be wildly out from one release to another, also. The concert on the 7th November went out for radio broadcast (hence the recording). He was also in New York at the end of October. If you're still unsure contact the Barbirolli Society and they'll put you right (I may be wrong but I doubt he was in Boston twice that year).


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

mbhaub said:


> I had no idea Glorious John did the Elgar 2 in Boston. Will definitely give this a listen. Not exactly Munch repertoire!


Was Munch still the MD in Boston in 1964, or was it Leinsdorf? Not exactly his kind of work either


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Merl said:


> As others have said, Barbirolli was only in Boston on the 6th and 7th November 1964 (he'd just come off a tour of Latin America). The big variations in timing, on live recordings, are usually in the first and final movement depending on where the master has been stopped or faded out for audience but it's not uncommon for classical cd timings to be wildly out from one release to another, also. The concert on the 7th November went out for radio broadcast (hence the recording). He was also in New York at the end of October. If you're still unsure contact the Barbirolli Society and they'll put you right (I may be wrong but I doubt he was in Boston twice that year).


Thanks for the info!
I compared the two versions (the youtube and the one in my 2nd link), and yeah, they're clearly the same recording, with the 20 seconds difference caused by silence after the first movement, which is clipped out in the youtube version.
I thought they were different at first because the youtube version sounds so much better than the one on crq editions.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Triplets said:


> Was Munch still the MD in Boston in 1964, or was it Leinsdorf? Not exactly his kind of work either


Leinsdorf....1964 - not exactly halcyon days for the BSO.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Triplets said:


> Was Munch still the MD in Boston in 1964, or was it Leinsdorf? Not exactly his kind of work either


You're right - Leinsdorf. Thanks for the correction. Out of curiosity I went to the BSO archives and Leinsdorf did do two Elgar works: The Enigma Variations and Falstaff. I've tried to search the archive to see when the BSO ever did the 2nd symphony, and was surpised how many times and who conducted: Max Fiedler, Boult, Barbirolli, Steinberg (that I'd like to hear!), Andrew David, Jeffrey Tate, Colin Davis.


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