Elgar: Pomp & Circumstance Marches; Enigma Variations; Cockaigne Overture

Customer Rating:
Summary: Worth The Price For Nimrod Alone
Comment: I purchased this CD about 10 years ago and have never tired of hearing it. The Nimrod Variation alone is worth the price of the disc. I have heard it said that the Nimrod Variation is the most beautiful 4 minutes in all of music and it may well be. I would certainly believe that it is the most beautiful 4 minutes in all of British music. There was no greater interpreter of British music than Sir Adrian Boult and you can't go wrong with this recording. Save yourself $10-15.00 you might spend on a more recent recording of the Enigma Variations and purchase this disc. The other compositions on the disc are some of Elgar's best known works and fill out the program nicely.

Customer Rating:
Summary: budget blockbuster
Comment: Sir Adrian Boult in both the Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, what more could anyone ask. How about Sir John Barbiolli in the Cockaigne Overture. With performances like these you can easily forgive the slight lapse in sound quality. I had all 5 Marches scattered on 5 different discs. Now they are all together with some great performances of Elgar masterpieces. At the price, there is no going wrong here.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Solve the enigma
Comment: I ordered the recording and the score to see if I could break the code. Besides identifying each variation with one of Elgar's friends, is there something in the main motif itself? Like the digits of pi? Has anyone found the pattern?

Customer Rating:
Summary: Great recording, great price. Buy this without question!!!!!
Comment: I stumbled across this little gem for the low price of about $3.00. I almost kept going assuming that the price was an indication of the quality. Glad I looked twice.

This is a wonderful album with respectful treatments and excellent sound quality, performed by the some of the greatest musicians in the world from the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonica Orchestra.

The Enigma Variations, a Theme and 15 short orchestrations that Sir Edward then named after his friends and family based on personality traits, are a wonderful, uncelebrated Opus. I love these pieces. They truly showcase the power of Elgar's compositional style and flair. They certainly rival his more famous Pomp and Circumstance, in my humble opinion. The recording is sharp, well mixed, with no perceivable noise.

As for the Pomp and Circumstance recordings, well done throughout. All 5 pieces are played wonderfully and recorded beautifully with excellent sound mixing and very little, if any, background noise.

Cockaigne Overture is, once again, perfect. Marvelous treatment, wonderful musicianship, excellent sound and quality.

THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE GREATEST MUSICAL VALUE ON THE SHELVES RIGHT NOW. I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE I ONLY PAID $3.00 FOR THIS RECORDING. I WOULD HAVE GLADLY SHELLED OUT THE OBLIGATORY $15.00 - $20.00 CONSIDERING THE QUALITY OF THIS CD.

IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU MUST BUY RIGHT NOW, BEFORE THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES AND RAISE THE PRICE!

Customer Rating:
Summary: CLASSICAL MASTERS
Comment: I BOUGHT THE CD FOR POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE BUT QUICKLY FELL IN LOVE WITH THE ENTIRE PIECE. IT IS WONDERFUL!