On this evidence, Sir John Pritchard’s Elgarian sympathies were not as subtly developed as those of his eventual successor at the helm of the BBC SO, Andrew Davis. The performance of In the South emanates from a 1974 Prom and is characteristically sturdy and ripe, occasionally to the point of crudeness. Similarly, the symphony receives a muscular, big-boned reading, rather than an especially perceptive one (the finale, by turns sticky and brusquely impatient, fares least happily). The exception comes in the great slow movement, whose infinitely moving closing minutes are precisely that (and how beautifully, by the way, Sir John eases us into this Molto espressivo e sostenuto section). A couple of mishaps could prove irksome on repetition: the violins go momentarily awry at 17'58'' in the first movement, and at 9'14'' in the Adagio the horns disconcertingly enter a bar early (such a pity, as this whole paragraph is perhaps the most memorable point in Pritchard’s entire interpretation). For the most part, though, the BBC SO are on good form and so are the engineers (the overprominent horns apart). The Bedford Corn Exchange audience are very well behaved.
However, for all the solid virtues of Pritchard’s performance, within this particular price range I would ultimately be inclined to look elsewhere for the Symphony. Try instead James Judd’s big-hearted, recently repackaged Halle recording or James Loughran’s equally likeable account with the same orchestra. Solti’s electrifying 1972 performance with the LPO now comes in harness with his equally exciting 1975 account of Elgar’s Second Symphony (an attractive Double Decca, this), and BBC Radio Classics have themselves just issued (as part of a celebratory two-CD set) a truly exhilarating 1976 Proms performance with the BBC SO under Sir Adrian Boult. EG understandably enthused about this in his October review, and all Elgarians should try to hear it.'