The disc has "Sir Edward Elgar" written across it in large letters. But any imperialistic or Establishment associations, such as used to cling to the composer and his music, are decisively banished by a performance that brings out the First Symphony's sense of loss and angst. Hickox and his admirable orchestra relish its beauties and splendours, but also its terrors; the deeply ambiguous first movement is particularly fine. The early organ sonata (in Jacob's orchestration) hints at what is to come without making the sensational breakthrough of the Enigma Variations, four years later, seem any less miraculous.
Chandos CHSA 5049