Richard Studt - English String Music: Britten, Holst, Delius, Williams, Warlock (1994)

This is a sensational, bang up CD. The sound engineering is rich and full, giving you a full injection of glorious string sound. As for the performances, they are some of the best I've ever heard. The Britten is comparable to the composer's own recording, while the Warlock is absolutely the finest I know of. If you are familiar with recordings of these works by William Boughton and the English String Orchestra or by Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, these performances will not seem out of place in their company. The Vaughan Williams was perhaps richer sounding on the classic Marriner LP of it from the 1970's, but Studt's version is committed and memorable. The Holst is as good as Marriner's or Sir Malcolm Sargent's, vigorous and rich sounding. The English string repertoire is one of the great glories of all orchestral music. This disc and John Barbirolli's of works of Elgar and Vaughan Williams are great ways to start your collection of it.