Elgar Symphony No. 2 in E flat, Op. 63. BBC Philharmonic / Sir Edward Downes.

Naxos (Super budget price) (CD) 8 550635 (56 minutes: DDD).

Further proof that Sir Edward Downes is an Elgarian to be reckoned with. His Conifer Classics Enigma (1/91), full of fantasy and perceptive observation, is up there with the very best, and so too is this new account of the Second Symphony. In the first movement, Downes steers a gloriously clear-sighted course: here is the same unexaggerated, splendidly authoritative conception I remember hearing from this conductor in the concert-hall. Unlike some rivals on record, Downes resists the temptation to give too much too soon, and this feeling of power in reserve lends an extra cumulative intensity to the proceedings; indeed, the coda here is absolutely thrilling, as devastating in its emotional thrust as it was on Sir Adrian Boult's magnificent 1956 Nixa recording (7/56—nla), and there can be no higher praise in my book!

The ensuing Larghetto sees Downes striking a near-perfect balance between introspection (witness the raptly intimate string playing during those two crucial a tempo passages at figs. 71 and 81 respectively) and heart-warming passion (the big climax at fig. 86 is as overwhelming as I can ever recall, aided in this instance by some superbly refulgent string-tone). Both the Rondo and finale are ideally paced—the former not too hectic, the latter flowing to perfection, culminating in an epilogue of rare delicacy. In this same movement, note also the very real poignancy Downes distils from Elgar's sequential writing from fig. 152 onwards, a passage that can so easily sound literal and four-square in less understanding hands. Throughout, the BBC Philharmonic play their hearts out for their former chief: I can't resist singling out the orchestra's golden-toned cello section for special praise. Just a touch more clarity in tuttis, and the recording would have been ideal; as it is, the resulting sonics are more subtly blended than on Naxos's companion disc of Elgar's First (2/94).

In sum, a deeply sympathetic Elgar Second. Even in the face of such strong competition from the likes of Solti, Handley and Loughran (whose similarly lucid, dignified reading Downes's perhaps most obviously resembles), this newcomer now emerges as the preferred budget version, possessing qualities to match any rival. At Naxos price, it's surely a must for all Elgarians.

AA