Listeners looking for a well-played, well-recorded, and deeply felt recording of
Elgar's brilliant and warmhearted Enigma Variations who have already heard the
Boult and
Barbirolli recordings might try this 1988 recording by
Bryden Thomson and the
London Philharmonic. It has everything one looks for in an Enigma -- superb and sympathetic playing by the
LPO and stylish and expressive conducting from
Thomson -- plus that degree of profound and abiding affection that only the English seem able to bring to
Elgar's glorious hymn to love and friendship. By coupling
Elgar's popular Enigma with his less well known but still ebullient Froissart Overture, his far less well known but still infectious ballet The Sanguine Fan, and his nearly unknown but still charming incidental music from Grania and Diarmid, this disc has a distinct appeal for
Elgar lovers who have already heard the Pomp and Circumstance Marches enough times. Chandos' early digital sound was clean but cool in its day, but sounds richer and warmer in this incarnation.