Elgar: Symphony No. 3

“…there's something oddly relentless about Hickox's attitude to tempo. The characteristic Elgarian ebb and flow, so well caught by Paul Daniel on Naxos, and so lovingly intensified by Colin Davis (LSO Live), is particularly lacking in the first two movements.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2008 ***

"The Bournemouth Symphony's fine playing touches more depths and scales more heights than we've heard before ... The result is remarkable; at Naxos's bargain price it becomes irresistible." The Guardian

'Not only do Davis and his excellent band distil a remarkable level of concentration in this nobly defiant, dark hued essay, they also locate a heartache and intimacy that touch to the very marrow.' Gramophone

“Otaka and the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra need to lighten their plodding tread a little in the two Elgar works realised with ghost-like authenticity here by Anthony Payne. The Sapporo musicians play with precision and bright brasses but the Third Symphony wears thin for want of magic. The dancing scherzo lacks sensuousness. The finale becomes impatient through grinding, successive false endings.” The Times, 12th April 2008 ***

“A meticulous Third from an unexpected source - but the competition is fierce.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2008

“The first movement unfolds in a single expansion sweep without ever sounding hurried, while the wonderful Adagio builds to its awe-inspiring climax with a steady inevitability that strongly recalls Bruckner.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2008 ***

Elgar died in 1934 leaving behind the sketches for a 4-movement symphony; the Elgar family's decision to commission Anthony Payne to realise the sketches has produced an astonishing work of truly Elgarian nobility.