This super-budget Elgar Second is surely well worth anyone's money. As on Loughran's companion disc of the First Symphony (2/93), the Halle respond with commendable, sure-footed discipline and their playing lacks nothing in whole-hearted application or fervour. Loughran's view is a spacious one, yet its cumulative power is undeniable (the work's crowning climax in the finale hits home with magnificent inevitability) and his structural grasp of the whole is most impressive. Only in the uneasy half-lights of the first movement's development did I detect any unwelcome slackening of tension. For the rest, few Elgarians could fail to be moved by the gentle perception of Loughran's thoughtful conducting. A fine achievement. The recording has impressive clarity, though a little more ambient warmth would not have gone amiss. Marriner's efficient, somewhat stiff account of the Serenade adds nothing to our knowledge of this lovely music; the digital recording here is a trifle hard-edged. For the symphony alone, though, this Quicksilva release represents quite a bargain.'