Sir Adrian Boult - Elgar: Complete EMI Recordings

Back in 1920, having heard the young Adrian Boult conduct the Second Symphony, Sir Edward Elgar was certain: 'My reputation in the future is safe in your hands. It was a wonderful series of sounds. Bless you!' How right Elgar was, as this treasury confirms: the first set to unite all of Boult's recordings for EMI of a composer he conducted and recorded throughout his long career. We can thereby hear four different versions of the Enigma Variations, recorded between 1936 and 1970, and marvel at their clear-sighted consistency as much as changing nuances of expression over the years.

The oldest recording in this collection, being Sir Adrian's first of his long association with Elgar, that of the orchestration of the Chopin: Funeral March from his Piano Sonata No. 2, commissioned by the Gramophone Company, was attended by the composer and his daughter.

About a tenth of the total collection is available on CD for the first time in this box set.

This set is part of our series of releases marking 30 years since the conductor's passing.