Symphony No 1 Organ Sonata - $16.95

Richard Hickox's recording with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales of Edward Elgar's Symphony No. 1 in A flat major is a brilliant achievement, and listeners who discover the work through this astonishing-sounding recording will be thoroughly delighted with it. Elgar instructed that the piece should be played "elastically and mystically," to get to the fluid effect he desired. There is much to enjoy about this deeply felt and powerful performance, which is full of the generosity and compassion Elgar wished to convey; the orchestra is both scintillating in its impressionistic colors and glorious in its moving statements of the noble main theme. This reproduction works - it is spectacular, and the wide frequency range delivers true pianissimos, as well as resounding fortissimos.