Composer: Frank Bridge, Edward William Elgar
Performer: Gabriel Schwabe
Orchestra: ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Christopher Ward
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8574320
Release: 2021
Size: 308 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85
01. I. Adagio – Moderato
02. II. Lento – Allegro molto
03. III. Adagio
04. IV. Allegro – Moderato – Allegro ma non troppo
Bridge: Oration – Concerto elegiaco for cello and orchestra
05. Poco lento
06. Allegro – Allargando – Meno energico – Poco largamente
07. Ben moderato
08. Allegro giusto
09. Cadenza
10. Allegro – Meno energico – A tempo, energico – Allargando poco animato
11. Lento
12. Epilogue. Andante tranquillo
These two masterpieces are shadowed by the events of the First World War. Elgar’s Cello Concerto, an intensely poignant, reflective and individual musical statement, has enjoyed unflagging popularity among musicians and listeners for over 100 years. By contrast, Frank Bridge’s Oration (Concerto elegiaco) remained unperformed for decades after its early hearings. Yet it shares spiritual affinities with Elgar’s work and serves as a funeral address of huge solemnity and narrative power in its outcry against the futility of war.