Elgar - Introduction and Allegro - A Far Cry

My great grandfather was a very close friend of Elgar and this piece was dedicated to him. So nice to come upon this lovely performance!

What a rich, lovely sound from a less than large ensemble. The hall accoustics are clearly very good, but the playing is sumptuous and gets the feel of this wonderful work by Elgar absolutely right.

I am a great Elgarian and have known this piece for forty years, It has never been a favourite of mine. You wonderful players have opened my eyes to its greatness for the first time. Thank you.

i have known this piece for half a century. I loved the wonderfully transparent texture of this skimmed down version . I could hear so much going on that was swamped by a big orchestra. A lovely idea to have the quartet of soloists/leaders in the front. An inspiring performance.

This really slaps. Elgar smashes it again. What a kickass recording from these guys!

I absolutely love the viola. There should be much more music featuring the viola written and played. The musician playing the viola in this pice is fabulous.

THIS IS THE BEST RECORDING I'VE HEARD OF WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE ELGAR'S GREATEST WORK F.J.BECK

I have heard this wonderful piece so often -Boult, Barbirolli, many famous performances, live and on record - and I've also played in performances. This exceptional account made me hear it afresh. Like Willynn Mcl, I was very much moved by the quartet violist's playing of the little Welsh tune that Elgar used so effectively, but that just set the tone for everything that followed ; it was all just right. Ensemble is perfect, as is balance - you hear all the leading voices in the fugue, but never at the expense of other voices, it's all there - tempi are just fine, and the overall sound is full and beautiful, even though this is quite a small group (no doubt the hall acoustic and microphoning have something to do with that, but that's fine). It's lovely too - though this is not a musical point - to see such an apparently cosmopolitan group, with reasonably balanced male/female personnel - performing Elgar ; it nice to see that he has reached this level of internationalism. Anyway, I have not enjoyed a performance as much as this for many years, if, perhaps, ever. It's good to see such a large number of 'likes' and not one 'dislike' - who could possibly dislike this?

There is a story probably apocryphal that Elgar's heard the strains of the viola theme carried on the wind from the Welsh border whilst walking in the Malvern Hills. True or not it can only add to the wonderful "outdoor" quality of this beautiful music in this lovely performance. The Introduction and Allegro was used to great effect in the 1962 film Portrait of a Composer made by Ken Russell for the BBC arts programme Monitor. I have loved it ever since.

It's a performance that stopped me in my tracks - everyone is playing out of their skin, and the result is just pulsating with energy

This wonderful piece is one of the world's Classical Music Masterpieces. Brilliantly played and a great recording

I haven't heard this piece played with so much rubato and tempo variation before - but you know, I like it!

We Brits are always chuffed when foreigners have a bash at our beloved Elgar. Especially when they play the music so spectacularly well as this. Thanks and many congratulations.

Moved to tears by this wonderful performance of my favourite piece of music. The vivacity of this young orchestra and the skill and enthusiasm with which they played was truly inspiring. Thank you so much for 15 minutes of sheer delight in these dark times.

My tears flowed when the solo viola played the theme in E flat and again in the same passage in D major later on. I was also greatly moved by the G major section all the way to the end. Thank you so much for giving me such enormous ecstasy!!!!

Such a wonderful and at times, threatening piece of music. The theatre of this performance entirely apposite. What a masterpiece, what a treat.

This is my first encounter with the work and the group. What a group! The piece is exquisite, and they play it exquisitely. Also, kudos to the audio engineer for the clarity and warmth of the sound. A wonderful, listening experience.

I first heard this piece in Ken Russell's lovely film about Elgar produced for the BBC in the 1960s. I've listened to it countless times since ... but none match this performance. Simply, ... the best !

A fine, sensitive, spirited performance of a very special piece I've loved since I was introduced to it as a teenager 50 years ago. It's breezy, active, happy music, and brings me images of Elgar striding across his beloved Malvern Hills with the wind in his hair, three counties at his feet and music rushing in his brain.

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