The symphony was slow to catch on, not performed a second time by the Hallé Orchestra, generally very supportive of Elgar's music, until 1926. The Royal Philharmonic Society performed the work in 1916 and not again until seven years later. In the wake of World War I, it did begin to stake its place in the repertoire. A concert in March 1924, inspired the "Times" critic to remark upon the second movement: "one wondered whether any nobler or more beautiful funeral music has been written than this, which unrolls like some vast tapestry richly woven of purple and crimson threads." Adrian Boult's rendering of the piece with the London Symphony Orchestra on 16 March 1920 was received with "frantic enthusiasm," and stirred Elgar to declare, "I feel that my reputation in the future is safe in your hands."