In its purposeful symphonic thrust and unsentimental objectivity, Sir Roger Norrington's interpretation of Elgar's First Symphony is basically in the Boult tradition, if without that master's innate, wholly cherishable understanding of the idiom. For all the dedication and technical skill displayed by the excellent South West German RSO, both fantasy and expressive ardour are in relatively short supply - an impression which Norrington's characteristic penchant for lean string timbre merely tends to reinforce. In spite of its concert-hall provenance, the performance conveys little of the searing intensity or combustible spontaneity evident on, say, Solti's unforgettable 1972 Kingsway Hall taping with the LPO for Decca (where the rapt slow movement, in particular, reaches sublimely wistful heights barely hinted at here).
Much as I appreciate the clear-headed, selfless integrity of Norrington's way with the mighty opening movement, the emotional temperature is set a few notches too low for my taste. Elsewhere, the Scherzo lacks something in swagger, while the finale has plenty of athletic vigour but little sense of exhilaration. With the finishing line in view, Norrington perhaps rather undermines the full, giddy cumulative impact of Elgar's final stringendo marking by speeding up a few bars earlier than marked - though it does impart a snapping brilliance to the brass's thrillingly jagged interjections leading up to fig 150 (10'11''-10'15'').
The sound has all the solid virtues of a truthfully balanced radio broadcast, and Hanssler gives us a somewhat incongruous 'bonus track' in the shape of a pleasingly unsensational account of Wagner's Flying Dutchman Overture (recorded at a separate concert). However, as will by now be clear, Norrington's reading of the main offering would not feature on my own personal short-list of recommendations printed at the head of this review.
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