Elgar 'Pomp & Circumstance' March No. 2 - Stanley Pope conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Elgar wrote five 'Pomp and Circumstance' Marches with No. 1 being the most famous, due to the addition of "Land of Hope and Glory" to the work's big tune. Like first March, the second in A minor also dates from 1901 and is the shortest of the five. It has been described as music of dignity and an excellent example of Elgarian orchestration. The recording heard here comes from a rare 45rpm 7" disc recorded in 1954 which featured four of Elgar's marches. Stanley Pope, the conductor, was averse to making commercial recordings and the only other record he made, also for Philips and equally rare, was of the original version Schumann's 4th Symphony. Both rarities have been issued by the French company "Forgotten Records." This track comes from an all-Elgar CD that also features Sir John Barbirolli conducting the 1st Symphony with the Halle Orchestra in 1956. (Catalogue No. fr 2372).