Sir John Barbirolli—The Complete Warner Recordings [109 CD Collection]

Of the three Bs -Boult, Beecham and Barbirolli, it is probably Barbirolli who is most remembered today for his long commitment to the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester and his recordings of British music, including the world's best-selling performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto with Jacqueline du Pré.

He left behind a fine catalogue of performances stretching back to the 1920s and was the successor to Toscanini in New York at the Philharmonic during the 1930s, and despite being only just five feet in stature, he left a memorable trail in that city and a clutch of fine recordings, some of which, if you enjoy early recordings from 1930s New York, are worth hearing also here.

This collection, however, gathers all his English recordings in both stereo and mono, made in London and Manchester from 1928 until his final sessions in 1969, and includes his magnificent performances of the Elgar Symphonies and also his Sibelius cycle that still stands as a major achievement over 60 years later.

The box contains some delights from the early years, including a fascinating performance by Madam Suggia of Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 2 in 1928, and a chance to hear the silvery tones of Kreisler in the Beethoven Violin Concerto from 1936. The star names are worth the box alone: Rubinstein, Menuhin, Heifetz and Campoli, together with Barenboim, Ogdon, and Du Pré and Navarra are all presented here in very good new transfers, which make the music leap out and let you feel as if you could have been there over the century since they cut the wax right through to the 1960s.

Barbirolli was also a fine opera conductor, and as well as the core orchestral repertoire, you also get his very fine recordings of Otello by Verdi, Madam Butterfly by Puccini and the Verdi Requiem. Singers include John Vickers, Caballe, Baker, Scotto and Bergonzi, and there are also large excerpts from Tosca, Turandot and Manon Lescaut sprinkled throughout the box.

Interestingly, the major recordings that he made of the music of Elgar were all made with the Philharmonia and LSO together with the Sinfonia of London, making probably the greatest recording of the String Serenade and the Introduction and Allegro for Strings available today. He did make an equally fine performance of the Cello Concerto with Andre Navarra and the Hallé and his 1964 performance of the Elgar 2nd Symphony with the Hallé Is very fine indeed.

His recordings of the last three Tchaikovsky symphonies show how much electricity he could generate and despite the acoustic dryness of Manchester's Free Trade Hall, these early stereo performances are worth having as they show his impeccable musical phrasing and also how by using subtle portmanteau in the strings, the melodies can sing in a manner that is seldom heard today.

Herbert Von Karajan was an admirer and allowed him to record Mahler with the BPO, an accolade seldom bestowed on other maestros of that era.

The Brahms symphony cycle that he made in Vienna in the mid ‘60s has sometimes come in for questioning, but there is no doubt that the third symphony is magnificently played and despite some slow tempi, each symphony is powerfully played, and the VPO gives full support to his readings.

Walter Weller, who led the orchestras on these performances, once told me that the orchestra felt that Barbirolli was beginning to show his health issues and that the orchestra wished they had worked with him five years earlier as they genuinely respected his musicianship and deep musical understanding of the works.

For those who like to hear what the musicians think of conductors they work with there is an excellent sound documentary featuring some of the players such as Michael Davis who sadly passed away last year and also John Georgiadis and Kevin Nutty who played under him in both the Hallé and London orchestras and give candid and affectionate tributes to a much admired man of music who devoted 27 years of his life to the Hallé Orchestra and was revered around the world.

Enjoy this fine collection of performances which will not remain on the shelves forever.