Elgar’s lost recordings

Until now, Elgar’s recording of his Elegy, Op. 58 from August 1933 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra has been the earliest available version of this adagio for string orchestra, thought to be a memorial to his friend August Jaeger. But a recent discovery of a test pressing from an earlier recording with the BBC Symphony Orchestra pushes the timeline back to April that year. This is just one of the remastered gems on a new CD entitled Elgar Rediscovered (SOMMCD 0167). The disc also includes the very first recording of Elgar’s Violin Concerto, recorded in October 1916 with Albert Sammons as the soloist and Sir Henry Wood conducting.