A Falstaff to rank with the finest on disc. Handley's clear-headed, wonderfully affectionate conception is entirely winning. Chosen tempos are essentially spacious, yet the symphonic thrust of the whole has rarely been so compellingly conveyed (very long takes were the order of the day, I understand), and the LPO plays with tremendous application and refinement throughout. Of course, we're already supremely well served with superb renderings of Elgar's masterwork from the likes of Barbirolli in 1964 (EMI), Barenboim (CBS/Sony Classical), Solti (Decca) and, not least, the composer himself in his 1930s account (EMI—part of a three-disc set)—the latter still unsurpassed for its intuitive character, remarkable vigour and miraculous spontaneity—but Handley easily earns his place alongside such distinguished company. Mike Clements's 1978 recording (St Augustine's Church, Kilburn in north west London was the helpfully reverberant venue) has come up as clean as a new whistle, if with slightly less body than I had remembered from the original LP.
An absolutely first-rate Cockaigne and well-honed, if slightly cool Introduction and Allegro (the latter derived from a 1983 digital source and sounding rather more 'pinched' in the treble than its companions) round off this treasurable release, which, within its budget price-range, must be accounted a veritable bargain of bargains.'