Elgar: Enigma Variations Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra & Vasily Petrenko

• Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934): In the South, Op. 50 "Alassio":
• 1 In the South, Op. 50 "Alassio": Overture for Orchestra 23:58
• Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 20:
• 2 Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 20: I. Allegro piacevole                                 03:18
• 3 Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 20: II. Larghetto             06:16
• 4 Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 20: III. Allegretto                   02:45
• Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma":
• 5 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Theme. Andante            01:21
• 6 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation I. C.A.E 01:55
• 7 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation II. H.D.S-P 00:45
• 8 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation III. R.B.T 01:21
• 9 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation IV. W.M.B 00:28
• 10 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation V. R.P.A 02:18
• 11 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation VI. Ysobel 01:18
• 12 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation VII. Troyte 00:54
• 13 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation VIII.  W.N             01:58
• 14 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation IX. Nimrod 03:26
• 15 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation X. Intermezzo. Dorabella 02:27
• 16 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation XI. G.R.S 00:58
• 17 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation XII. B.G.N 02:40
• 18 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation XIII. Romanza 02:55
• 19 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Variation XIV. Finale. E.D.U 05:19
• Total Runtime 01:06:20

Info for Elgar: Enigma Variations

The third Elgar album from Petrenko and the RLPO , a critically acclaimed team of Elgarians, brings together three masterpieces, In the South, a vibrant and colourful depiction of the Southern Italian coast, the Serenade for String Orchestra, and the Variations on an original theme, know as the Enigma Variations. Elgar’s breakthrough masterpiece was conceived in 1898 during a moment of dispirited idleness. He had come home exhausted from a day of violin teaching and was absent-mindedly extemporising at the piano when his wife, Alice, called out: ‘Edward, that’s a good tune.’ What Elgar’s fingers had stumbled upon were in fact hints or fragments of a melody, each starting after the first beat of the bar – ideal for variation treatment. Now contemplating that theme, Elgar began to imagine how certain friends of his might play it or make it their own ….

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor

Vasily Petrenko - Conductor
Vasily Petrenko was appointed Principal Conductor of the orchestra in September 2006 and in September 2009 became Chief Conductor. He is also Principal Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and in 2013 will become Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. He was the Classical BRIT Awards Male Artist of the Year 2010 and the Classic FM/Gramophone Young Artist of the Year 2007. In 2009 he was awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University. He now works with many of the world’s finest orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Russian National, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, and the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, and his wide operatic repertoire includes Macbeth (Glyndebourne Festival Opera), Le Villi, I due Foscari and Boris Godunov (Netherlands Reisopera), Pique Dame (Hamburg State Opera) and Eugene Onegin (Opéra de Paris, Bastille). Recordings with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra include Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony (2009 Classic FM/Gramophone Orchestral Recording of the Year) (Naxos 8.570568), an ongoing Shostakovich cycle, and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances and complete Piano Concertos.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
The award-winning Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is Britain’s oldest surviving professional symphony orchestra, dating from 1840. The dynamic young Russian, Vasily Petrenko, was appointed Principal Conductor of the orchestra in September 2006 and in September 2009 became Chief Conductor. The orchestra gives over sixty concerts each season in Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and tours widely throughout the United Kingdom and internationally, most recently touring to China, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Romania and the Czech Republic. In recent seasons, world première performances have included major works by Sir John Tavener, Karl Jenkins, Michael Nyman and Jennifer Higdon, John McCabe, Emily Howard, Gary Carpenter, Mark Simpson and Kenneth Hesketh. Recent additions to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s extensive and critically acclaimed recording catalogue include Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony (2009 Gramophone Awards Orchestral Recording of the Year), the world première performance of Sir John Tavener’s Requiem, the first six discs of an ongoing Shostakovich cycle (the recording of Symphony No. 10 is the 2011 Gramophone Awards Orchestral Recording of the Year), Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, and Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3 and Nos. 1 and 4 with Simon Trpčeski; and Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 3.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir & Chorus Master: Ian Tracey
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir has always been central to the life of Liverpool Philharmonic. Its members are drawn from all walks of life and travel from all parts of the Liverpool City Region, and beyond, to take part in the choir’s activities. The choir’s repertoire covers all periods and styles from Bach to newly commissioned works, with full symphony orchestra and unaccompanied, and it also plays a leading rôle in the famous Liverpool Philharmonic Carol Concerts. The choir has performed in many of the major British concert venues, has sung with the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Philharmonic, and has undertaken several foreign tours, both independently and with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Ian Tracey has been Chorus Master since 1985 and has travelled with the choir both in Britain and abroad.

Booklet for Elgar: Enigma Variations