Elgar Conducts His Violin Concerto (1932) Menuhin

Edward Elgar
Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61
1. Allegro (0:07)
2. Andante (17:30)
3. Allegro molto (30:31)
4. Cadenza (accompagnata: Lento) - Allegro molto (40:44)
Yehudi Menuhin, violin
Sir Edward Elgar, conductor
The London Symphony Orchestra
Recorded on July 14-15, 1932
at Abbey Road Studio 1, London
Although Elgar dedicated the Violin Concerto to Fritz Kreisler, who gave its premiere, the great virtuoso refused invitations to record it with Elgar. HMV's Fred Gaisberg instead suggested the then fifteen-year-old Yehudi Menuhin, who had been making a huge sensation internationally. The young violinist accepted the invitation with great enthusiasm.
The two artists met on July 12 of 1932, only two days before the sessions, and the young violinist ran through the score with piano accompaniment. During that time Elgar himself sat quietly in a chair with his eyes closed and listened intently as Menuhin clearly made a great impression upon him.
Later Elgar would comment on multiple occasions how pleased he was with Menuhin's performance, describing the performance in the second movement during a playback session as "The merger of two souls melting into one another". He eventually penciled Menuhin's name above the opening theme on the manuscript.
It is amazing that high fidelity of this quality was being achieved at Abbey Road nearly a century ago. Hearing these great legends in this way is, for us, as good as it ever gets.
According to EMI this classic recording has been so popular with collectors that it has never been cut out of distribution since it was first issued in the 1930s. A very rare distinction which very few recordings can claim.
Digital mastering and restoration (1999): Andrew Walter - Abbey Road Studios
Field acoustic remix and subsequent 24-bit restoration (2024): Paul Howard - The Yucaipa Studio
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[@davidmann4315]

Hard to believe this recording was made 92 years ago! Thanks for such a beautiful restoration.

[@hyukjunsohnviolin]

Wish there was a video too but still thank you very much! Very important recording of this piece

[@steveluciani]

Using airpods to compare this remaster to the already excellent EMI stream found on Apple Music, it not only sounds like it was recorded years later, but also in stereo! It's hard to imagine this historic performance sounding any better than it does here. Thanks!

[@leestamm3187]

I've been meaning to note your recent items about Paul's restorations on Musicweb International. I hope they result in a few more views for his great work on vintage recordings.

[@steveluciani]

@@leestamm3187 I try to repost and discuss them on TalkClassical as well, for the same reason. 🤞 I'm hoping Musicweb will review them, much like they review the Pristine re-issues, which I generally find less satisfactory than Paul's.

[@leestamm3187]

@@steveluciani I subscribe to most of the restoration & remastering channels. Paul's work usually rates with the best of them. Since his channel is non-monetized, I try to buy him a cup of coffee several times a year.

[@leestamm3187]

Great restoration, as ever. Thanks, Paul. The 16 year old Menuhin plays beautifully.

[@OriAriel94]

sounds amazing!

[@noshirm6285]

"...Kreisler regarded it as the most important violin concerto since those by Beethoven and Brahms, but later, and resisting all attempts to get him to record it, he dropped it from his repertoire. It is known that Elgar was not happy with Kreisler’s early interpretation of the work, and Kreisler was not a great fan of Elgar’s conducting."

[@enzocypriani5055]

Awesome

[@ktk2501]

Wundersamesremaster!