Symphony No. 2 (Elgar) Elgar is widely acknowledged as one of England's leading composers, his orchestral music, with the exception of the "Enigma Variations", the Cello Concerto, and his "Pomp and Circumstance" Marches, is only sporadically programmed outside Britain. The symphony was first recorded complete in 1927 by His Master's Voice, part of the EMI group, conducted by the composer. This recording was later reissued on LP and later on CD. There was no further recording for eighteen years, until Sir Adrian Boult and the BBC Symphony Orchestra made a recordings of the symphony in 1944. Since then there have been more than twenty-four
Pomp and Circumstance Marches timpani (3), percussion (side drum, bass drum & cymbals), and strings. Without introduction, its opening episode is extended with enormous confidence and proceeds directly into the "Trio" section. The "Trio" starts quietly in a similar way to the introduction of his First Symphony: just a moving bass line and a tune, also in the same key (A). The tune is re-stated strongly, as we expect, then developed. The re-statement of the opening employs the same instruments of the orchestra, but is this time started as soft as possible for just four bars before a quick "crescendo" restores its spirit to