# Favorite Enigma Variations?



## donnie a

(Sorry if this has been asked before; I'm sure it probably has somewhere along the way.)

Is there any recording that completely satisfies you? If not, which is your favorite?

Enigma is one of my favorite works, but there is no perfect recording for me. There is always something about a tempo here, a transition there, that is never quite just the way I would like it. I think conducting this work would be very difficult.

I like Andrew Davis, Adrian Boult, and others, but I keep coming back to the Simon Rattle / City of Birmingham recording from 1993. I think that one is hard to beat, all around.


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## SONNET CLV

Perhaps part of the enigma is that there is no single satisfactory recording!

I've long favored the 1960s era recording by William Steinberg and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It's available in the EMI CLASSICS "Icon" box set "William Steinberg: The Complete EMI Recordings", which just arrived in the mail today.

As for the "Enigma" ... you really can't go wrong with the Rattle/Birmingham recording. The older Barbirolli recording has merit, as does a more recent one by Andre Previn. Though I have several on my shelf, I always seem to reach for the LP Steinberg, which I now have on CD.


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## Alfacharger

I'll go hide in the corner now!:tiphat::lol:










Actually, this is my favorite.


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## Celloman

Boult and the London Philharmonic


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## Triplets

Pierre Monteux and the LSO is my favorite


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## ptr

Celloman said:


> View attachment 66124
> 
> 
> Boult and the London Philharmonic


My top choice as well (And You get the best Planets ever as well!), Elders on the Hallé Orchestra's own label is the next best thing.. Also there are several versions set for organ that are quite interesting, fx. Peter **** on the Willis organ of Hereford Cathedral (Priory) makes a very good argument for the Enigmas on organ!

/ptr


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## hpowders

Daniel Barenboim/London Philharmonic paired with a fine Elgar Cello Concerto with Jacqueline du Pré.


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## Becca

hpowders said:


> Daniel Barenboim/London Philharmonic paired with a fine Elgar Cello Concerto with Jacqueline du Pré.


I have that recording and Du Pre is great as always, but I always felt that Barenboim, being very early in his conducting career, was a bit over his head. I would go with one of the Barbirolli recordings ... but which one???


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## Woodduck

There's a fascinating _Enigma_ on DG by Eugen Jochum with the LSO. Different from any you've heard, very strong, but not eccentric. One of the best, I think.


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## Tsaraslondon

I'll go for Barbirolli too.


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## donnie a

SONNET CLV said:


> I've long favored the 1960s era recording by William Steinberg and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It's available in the EMI CLASSICS "Icon" box set "William Steinberg: The Complete EMI Recordings", which just arrived in the mail today.
> 
> As for the "Enigma" ... you really can't go wrong with the Rattle/Birmingham recording. The older Barbirolli recording has merit, as does a more recent one by Andre Previn. Though I have several on my shelf, I always seem to reach for the LP Steinberg, which I now have on CD.


I listened to the Steinberg-a quite fine recording, I agree. It has a natural "rightness" to it throughout-a recording one could certainly live with. I was surprised that the sound is as good as it is, also, considering the vintage.


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## Haydn man

I will second this version


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## Nope

I really prefer Barenboim along with Cello Concerto with jacquline du pre.


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## 20centrfuge

Enigma Vars is one of my all time favorites, as well. Years ago (before Spotify) I bought a handful of recordings and quite liked this recording...some minor flaws but it is obvious Menuhin thoroughly loves and understands this music.


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## Il_Penseroso

I have five recordings of The Enigma Variations on CD or LP (include that made by Elgar himself, packed with the violin concerto) and my favorite is Pierre Monteux with the London Symphony Orchestra.


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## 20centrfuge

donnie a said:


> Enigma is one of my favorite works, but there is no perfect recording for me. There is always something about a tempo here, a transition there, that is never quite just the way I would like it. I think conducting this work would be very difficult.


I think this is very true. There is always something not quite right about every recording.


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## 20centrfuge

You were right Donnie A. Rattle's Enigma is excellent. The best I've heard. Thanks for the discussion and recommendation.


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## Guest

I've just picked up the CBSO/Rattle for 50p! (It's also got _Falstaff _and _Grania and Diarmuid_).

I may be English, but I find Elgar too sombre and, as yet, uninvolving. Nimrod suffers from overexposure - not to mention a long assocation with our Remembrance Day.


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## Heck148

Monteux
Solti
Barbirolli


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## Becca

There is a really good live performance on YouTube with Gennady Rozhdestvensky and the Royal Philharmonic. It is from 2007 and Rozhdestvensky was a last minute replacement!


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## Rogerx

Edward Elgar 1857-1934
Enigma Variation op.36
Leonard Bernstein, conductor
BBC Symphony Orchestra

I find this one fascinating.


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## Orfeo

^^^^
I too find Bernstein's DG recording with the BBC Symphony fascinating. His Nimrod is controversial (slow, self-indulgent, plodding are the adjectives often used in dismissing his otherwise thought-provoking, compelling rendition). One of the things I admire about Bernstein is that he was not afraid to be different, to put his own stamp on what he portrayed on the podium. It, however, remains a hit or miss depending on the listener, but with his Elgar here, it works (well, for me anyhow).


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## mbhaub

You know, there some people who feel that Bernstein's is the best recording of Enigma ever made? I don't agree, but it is quite special - very moving at times. Makes me wish he had recorded the two symphonies. My favorite Enigma on record: Slatkin/LPO on RCA


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## Merl

Wading into the Bernstein Enigma debate I do find his recording interesting. Do I like it? Not one bit but at least he had something to say about the piece, even if I think it's awful. One of my favourites is definitely Monteux. Just superb. I also like Jochum's old account.


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## Dirge

I've long favored the 1956 Barbirolli/Hallé recording of the _Enigma Variations_ on Pye, which I have via the EMI Phoenixa CD reissue. The well-known 1962 Barbirolli/Philharmonia account on EMI sounds rather tired and uninspired in comparison, while the crackling 1947 Barbirolli/Hallé account on Pye sounds a bit brash and unfinished, not yet possessing the magical phrasing of the 1956 account. The stereo recording was made by the Mercury recording team of Cozart, Lawrence & Fine for Pye and sounds, not surprisingly, a lot like a Mercury Living Presence recording of the period.


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## Templeton

I am a fan of the Monteux and Boult versions but my favourite is actually John Eliot Gardiner and the Vienna Philharmonic, which is stunning.


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## Josquin13

I don't believe there's any such thing as a "perfect" or definitive recording of any piece of music. And yet, for me, Sir Adrian Boult is THE conductor for pre-WW2 British composers--Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Holst, etc.--with Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Norman Del Mar, and occasionally Sir Charles Groves as a close second, depending the work in question. I'd mention Sir Thomas Beecham, too, but I think that Beecham was more of a champion of the music of Frederick Delius than Elgar. & of course, there's Elgar himself as a conductor of his own music, historically--as with the YT link here from 1926, romantic violin slides & all: 



. However, I don't especially care for Elgar's version, surprisingly.

I don't find many conductors outside of this group to be especially idiomatic in English music, although I've liked Sir Neville Marriner and Bryden Thomson, and certain recordings by Vernon Handley, Andrew Litton, Andre Previn, & Bernard Haitink. (Though I've not heard Gardiner's Enigma Variations.)

1. Sir Adrian Boult, London Symphony Orchestra, 1970, EMI: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elgar-Orchestral-Variations-Circumstance-Marches/dp/B00000DO96






My most treasured concert experience of the Enigma Variations was hearing Sir Neville Marriner conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra back in the 1980s. The way that Marriner conducted the Nimrod movement was unforgettable. I found it deeply moving at the time, & unexpectedly so. (I'd be curious if that performance was recorded for broadcast by the orchestra, as it may have been.)

Other excellent recordings of the Engima Variations:

2. Norman Del Mar, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, DG, 1976, now reissued by the Eloquence label: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ELGAR-Enig...ar+elgar+enigma&qid=1574923195&s=music&sr=1-2

3. Pierre Monteux, London Symphony Orchestra, 1958, RCA: 




4 & 5. Sir Neville Marriner--two recordings: (4) with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, on Philips, & (5) with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, on Capriccio: 




6. Eugen Jochum, London Symphony Orchestra, DG: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00YBB9BUY/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp

7. Sir John Barbirolli, Philharmonia Orchestra, 1962, EMI (although I've not heard the other Barbirolli recordings that Dirge mentions): 




8. Andrew Litton, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 1987: 




As for Leonard Bernstein, I don't normally care for his later DG years (with a few exceptions), indeed if I had to name one recording that represented Bernstein at his worst during that period, it would be the Enigma Variations. Sorry, but I find his conducting awful on that recording. Yet, I admire that Bernstein took such chances. He was a daring conductor and could be very exciting, but, as a result, he was either great or bad & seldom anywhere in between.


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## Gray Bean

Barbirolli/Philharmonia...and you get a fantastic Falstaff to boot!
Eugen Jochum on DG
Rattle/CBSO
Thompson on Chandos
Previn/RPO
Boult/LPO
Bernstein/BBCSO (gasp!)
Sinopoli/Philharmonia


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## Allegro Con Brio

You’re telling me that Stokowski with the Czech Philharmonic has not been mentioned yet??? Gasp! It perfectly captures Stoki’s lush, vibrant conducting in brilliant stereo sound with one of the most distinctive-sounding orchestras in the world. What’s not to love? I do need to do some more Enigma listening and comparing though (I think besides Stoki I’ve only heard the famous Boult which I thought was rather safe). Previn, Bernstein, and Barbirolli with the Enigmas all sound like delightful combinations.


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## Brahmsianhorn

Becca said:


> I have that recording and Du Pre is great as always, but I always felt that Barenboim, being very early in his conducting career, was a bit over his head. I would go with one of the Barbirolli recordings ... but which one???


The 1956 Pye recording is my favorite


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## Knorf

It's _de rigueur_ around here to act like repertoire such as this was done the best only in recordings before 1975, and that none since then are worth considering. If you subscribe to this philosophy, you need read no further. Barbirolli, Boult, and Monteux are justly famous and extremely satisfying. And of course Elgar's own is worth a listen, ancient and acoustically dim though it is.

For those looking for something newer, I'm surprised Colin Davis/LSO from 2007 hasn't come up. It received superlative reviews when it came out, and I find it to be a superbly refreshing account, distinctive without being too idiosyncratic, and worth a place on the shelf of any devoted Elgarian such as myself.


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## Simplicissimus

Knorf said:


> It's _de rigueur_ around here to act like repertoire such as this was done the best only in recordings before 1975, and that none since then are worth considering. If you subscribe to this philosophy, you need read no further. Barbirolli, Boult, and Monteux are justly famous and extremely satisfying. And of course Elgar's own is worth a listen, ancient and acoustically dim though it is.
> 
> For those looking for something newer, I'm surprised Colin Davis/LSO from 2007 hasn't come up. It received superlative reviews when it came out, and I find it to be a superbly refreshing account, distinctive without being too idiosyncratic, and worth a place on the shelf of any devoted Elgarian such as myself.


That's the one for me, too. After admiring and acquiring Colin Davis/LSO live recordings from 2001 of Elgar's symphonies, I was naturally interested in this Enigma Variations, and it doesn't disappoint. I love this piece performed live, and this live recording worked out splendidly. On my system, it is a real sonic treat, and the playing is exciting and just perfect.


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## MarkW

I'm not enough of an Enigma connoisseur to have a favorite, but I will say that in the early '70s I unwisely sat in the front row of a Solti/CSO tour concert, and the wilder variations blew me out the back wall of the hall.


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## Enthusiast

I find myself liking so many recordings of the work. I even love the widely hated Bernstein recording - I could almost say "especially love" - and I very much like the Czech Stowkowski recording mentioned earlier. I don't know the LSO Live Colin Davis recording but his account with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (the one coupled with a fine Vaughan Williams 6) is very good. I'm trying not to mention the various Barbirolli and Boult recordings (or the Monteux), so I will only also mention Oramo (with the CBSO) and Solti (Chicago SO). Is it a work that a conductor can go wrong with?


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## mbhaub

Enthusiast said:


> Is it a work that a conductor can go wrong with?


On recordings, not likely. Unless you're Roger Norrington who applies his ill conceived HIP practices to Enigma and destroys the beauty of the sound by removing vibrato in the strings and then coldly play the whole work in an uncaring manner.

In performance, I played it more than once with conductors who should never have taken it up. They don't realize just how difficult some of it is. Variation II is a real challenge for string sections; if the tempo is too fast it's unplayable by less than first-rate orchestras and sounds like hell. But that hasn't stopped those conductors who want to play it at the "correct" tempo.


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## Becca

About 16 months ago I did one of the blind comparison series on the Enigma Variations...
Blind Comparison #3 - Enigma Variations

The 5 selections were...
A - Eugen Jochum / London Symphony (studio)
B - Gennady Rozhdestvensky / Royal Philharmonic (live, Proms)
C - Pierre Monteux / London Symphony (studio)
D - Simon Rattle / Berlin Philharmonic (live, Digital Concert Hall)
E - Mark Elder / Halle (live?)

The Monteux was a favourite of the majority with many having good things to say about the Rozhdestvensky.


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## Enthusiast

mbhaub said:


> On recordings, not likely. Unless you're Roger Norrington who applies his ill conceived HIP practices to Enigma and destroys the beauty of the sound by removing vibrato in the strings and then coldly play the whole work in an uncaring manner.


I must search out that Norrington.


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## Simplicissimus

Becca said:


> About 16 months ago I did one of the blind comparison series on the Enigma Variations...
> Blind Comparison #3 - Enigma Variations
> 
> The 5 selections were...
> A - Eugen Jochum / London Symphony (studio)
> B - Gennady Rozhdestvensky / Royal Philharmonic (live, Proms)
> C - Pierre Monteux / London Symphony (studio)
> D - Simon Rattle / Berlin Philharmonic (live, Digital Concert Hall)
> E - Mark Elder / Halle (live?)
> 
> The Monteux was a favourite of the majority with many having good things to say about the Rozhdestvensky.


Fascinating. That was before I started following, so I'm going to go back and take this all in. As I mentioned in #32, this is a work that I love to hear live, so I would be prejudiced in favor of the live performances, I think. The Rattle/Berlin Phil is especially intriguing in comparison with my favorite, the 2007 live Colin Davis/LSO.


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## DavidA

mbhaub said:


> You know, there some people who feel that Bernstein's is the best recording of Enigma ever made? I don't agree, but it is quite special - very moving at times. Makes me wish he had recorded the two symphonies. My favorite Enigma on record: Slatkin/LPO on RCA


Bernstein's recording is an example of what can work well in a one-off live performance gets tiresome on repetition.


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## DavidA

Of course this guy knew a bit about how they should go too.


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## Enthusiast

DavidA said:


> Bernstein's recording is an example of what can work well in a one-off live performance gets tiresome on repetition.


I have so many CDs and explore new music so much that I don't worry too much about a recording that gets tiresome on repeated listens. I can listen often until it does and then go to it once a year or even once a decade. I think of recordings as being like live performances these days.


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## Knorf

DavidA said:


> View attachment 135925
> 
> 
> Of course this guy knew a bit about how they should go too.


I won't dispute that Elgar's own is very much worth a listen, even in such an archaic recording. But it is worth repeating that composers are not always the best performers and interpreters of their own music. This might seem weird, but it's true. There are a variety of possible explanations for this.


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## Heck148

Knorf said:


> But it is worth repeating that composers are not always the best performers and interpreters of their own music. This might seem weird, but it's true. There are a variety of possible explanations for this.


Very true!! I sometimes wonder if composers, as they conduct their own works, are hearing what they imagine, or want to hear...rather than what is actually happening, what is actually being played.


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## Knorf

Heck148 said:


> Very true!! I sometimes wonder if composers, as they conduct their own works, are hearing what they imagine, or want to hear...rather than what is actually happening, what is actually being played.


Indeed. And sometimes their skill isn't sufficient to bridge the gap in the first place.


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## Brahmsianhorn

Regardless, I too enjoy Elgar’s own recordings of his works, particularly the symphonies.


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## Knorf

Brahmsianhorn said:


> Regardless, I too enjoy Elgar's own recordings of his works, particularly the symphonies.


Totally understandable!


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## Joachim Raff

This is my long standing recording i purchased for my early collection. Having listened to others including Monteux and Boult it comes out very well. Well balanced with superb performances from LAPO/Mehta. Sound quality and remaster is top notch.


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## Gray Bean

Previn/Royal Philharmonic 
Sinopoli/Philharmonia
Bernstein/BBCSO-my fav
Colin Davis/LSO Live-great symphonies with this combo, too.
Barbirolli/Philharmonia 
Slatkin/LPO
Jochum/LSO-with a cracking Haydn Variations


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## regnaDkciN

Gray Bean said:


> Previn/Royal Philharmonic
> Sinopoli/Philharmonia
> Bernstein/BBCSO-my fav
> Colin Davis/LSO Live-great symphonies with this combo, too.
> Barbirolli/LSO
> Slatkin/LPO
> Jochum/LSO-with a cracking Haydn Variations


When did Barbirolli record this with the LSO?


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## Gray Bean

My mistake....its the Philharmonia on EMI. Sorry to say there is no long lost LSO recording.


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## Guest002

I know I'm resurrecting a thread that's been Norwegian Blued for about 2½ months, but if you don't know Andrew Litton's 2019 recording on BIS with the Bergen Philharmonic, I'd strongly recommend.









Personally, I found the 1957 Barbirolli+Hallé recording awful (thin strings all round); Boult's 1971 recording is fine; Mackerras' 1998 recording sounded rather blurry and indistinct to me (I don't mean the sound quality, but the playing). I also found the recording level of Colin Davis' 2007 recording with the LSO exceptionally low, which irritated me enough to turn it off quite quickly, rather than up! I like Andrew Davies 1994 recording with the Philharmonia, too, though I found it a bit clinical.

The BBC Music Magazine (Vol. 13 No. 6, 2005 sometime) also released quite a good recording by Tadaaki Otaka with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. It has been my go-to version for a long time... but Litton+Bergen PO is now my new 'standard' recording.
*
Edited to add:* Davies recording was actually an analogue one recorded in 1981, which must make it one of the latest analogue recordings I can think of! The 1994 date is when Sony re-released it as a digital conversion. It's a very good recording anyway.


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## Rogerx

Did spin this one yesterday, hard to beat .


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## Animal the Drummer

Solti was a fine Elgarian. His Symph.no.1 is the best I've heard and he did a fine job in the Violin Concerto with Kyung-Wha Chung.

As for the "Enigma", one I like is Norman del Mar's brisk and breezy take on DG.


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## Guest002

Rogerx said:


> Did spin this one yesterday, hard to beat .


Found his 'Nimrod' much too fast and with far too little articulated phrasing. But his Cockaigne overture is a rip-roaring ride, for sure.


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## Simplicissimus

AbsolutelyBaching said:


> I know I'm resurrecting a thread that's been Norwegian Blued for about 2½ months, but if you don't know Andrew Litton's 2019 recording on BIS with the Bergen Philharmonic, I'd strongly recommend.
> 
> View attachment 141602
> 
> 
> Personally, I found the 1957 Barbirolli+Hallé recording awful (thin strings all round); Boult's 1971 recording is fine; Mackerras' 1998 recording sounded rather blurry and indistinct to me (I don't mean the sound quality, but the playing). I also found the recording level of Colin Davis' 2007 recording with the LSO exceptionally low, which irritated me enough to turn it off quite quickly, rather than up! I like Andrew Davies 1994 recording with the Philharmonia, too, though I found it a bit clinical.
> 
> The BBC Music Magazine (Vol. 13 No. 6, 2005 sometime) also released quite a good recording by Tadaaki Otaka with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. It has been my go-to version for a long time... but Litton+Bergen PO is now my new 'standard' recording.
> *
> Edited to add:* Davies recording was actually an analogue one recorded in 1981, which must make it one of the latest analogue recordings I can think of! The 1994 date is when Sony re-released it as a digital conversion. It's a very good recording anyway.


Interesting post! It stimulated me to listen to the Litton/Bergen recording, re-evaluate the Davis/LSO, and renew my acquaintance with an old favorite, Handley/LPO (1985).

I'd always listened to the Davis/LSO in multi-channel, but in response to your comment, I tried listening to it in stereo. I have to say, you have a point. The recording has an extraordinary dynamic range, and in stereo the quiet parts are way too faint. Turning up the volume sufficiently for the quiet parts makes the loud parts way too loud for my taste. In 3-channel or 5.1 SACD playback, this is less the case. I still think very highly of the interpretation and playing on this recording, but the dynamic range in stereo is a problem for me.

I agree that the Litton/Bergen recording is just fabulous. The playing and sound quality are out of this world. The orchestra has a rich, wonderfully textured sound that suits this work brilliantly. Comparatively, I would say that Litton's interpretation is passionate, energetic, and dramatic. There are moments of dream-like ecstasy and of pure sweetness. Listening to this recording over and over (I couldn't stop), I discovered that it is a remarkably coherent soundscape of this complex composition.

I felt that I wouldn't be able properly to appreciate Litton's accomplishment without comparing it to something quite different, and here I find my old favorite Vernon Handley to be the conductor to turn to. The sound and playing of the LPO in this 1985 recording is perfectly fine, but not nearly as good as Litton/Bergen. Handley's interpretation is lighter, often playful, and one might say by comparison somewhat superficial, but I find it very good. There's no bombast or pretension in Handley, just consistent lyricism.

I've spent so much time listening to the _Enigma Variations_ this past week that I've fallen behind on my other listening projects, but it's been a very enjoyable experience.


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## Enthusiast

I listened to a few recordings this week. Boult with the BBC Symphony is good and Barbirolli with the Philharmonia is as good as any (and better than most).


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## RobertJTh

With every new recording (new to me anyway) of the Enigma Variations, there's always the question: how did they handle Nimrod?
Clocking in in a reasonable 3:30-4:00 minutes, or going for the big stretch and tormenting it for over 5 minutes?
Just as much as I grew to distrust Mahler Adagiettos that take more than 10-11 minutes (8-9 minutes is about ideal), Nimrods that go over 4 minutes make me feel rather antsy.
Yes, I know, timings don't say everything and it's all about maintaining the flow, regardless of the tempo. But still, the composer did it in under 3 minutes, and I wouldn't say it sounds hasty. Just a bit stiff and unflexible, you wish he'd given the music some time to breathe at certain spots. But the basic tempo doesn't seem overly fast to me. If you allow the music some more freedom, you can do it very well in under 3:30 without compromising on expression and intensity.
So listening to Bernstein's near 6 minutes of self-indulgence is as painful to me as it must have been to those poor BBC Symphony players. And while Jochum's LSO recording has reference status, his 5 minutes Nimrod blows it for me.


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