London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis - Elgar: Enigma Variations, Introduction & Allegro (2007) [SACD]

… he [Sir Colin Davis] has always been a great Elgarian … Their Enigma, captured at the beginning of this year, is one of the most beautifully played I can recall, and certainly one of the most moving accounts of this much-recorded music … This superlative performance is coupled with an equally dazzling account, from 2005, of the Introduction and Allegro for Strings.’ CD of the Week – The Sunday Times (UK), 27 May 2007
`Colin Davis’s LSO Live recordings of the Elgar symphonies are already jewels in the label’s crown, so this release brought with it high expectations. Davis’s way with Elgar is always a fairly flexible one … it gives this splendid account of the Enigma Variations a real sense of a living organism. The LSO plays wonderfully’ – The Daily Telegraph (UK), 9 June 2007
`There’s no sign of ageing in Davis’s energetic Enigma interpretation, which enjoys an abundance of characterisation from its well-paced statement of the theme to a series of variations that each carry their own fascination. There is luxurious warmth in every sweeping phrase, but also a driving energy that holds the entire work together’ – The Scotsman (UK), 1 June 2007
`[a] superlative new recording … Davis’ reading of this marvellous work excels both in the broad sweep and in the intimate details. `Nimrod’ has surely never been played with a fresher, less hackneyed approach: each phrase of the variation emerges with fluidity, capped by the bold masculinity of the final line. Once again, LSO Live has taken on one of the most recorded works in the repertoire and provided the definitive account’ – MusicialCriticism.com (UK), 7 June 2007
`Of all the issues to mark the 150th anniversary of Elgar’s birth, few will be more distinguished than these masterful accounts … you have an Enigma Variations as beautifully paced and played as any on disc and a superb Introduction & Allegro by the orchestra that premiered the work under the composer’ – Observer (UK), 10 June 2007