(Concerto): Hickox unfurls the opening tutti richly, nobley, purposefully... no lack of brilliance, the fireworks are dashingly, tastefully despatched... sudden flashes of Paganinian dazzle(others): "The slow movement of the Piano Concerto... with a sympathetic performance from Margaret Fingerhut. Douglas Bostock is persuasive with his Elgarian rubato, which is what matters most." (Gramophone) "Polonia is to my mind, one of the finest works Elgar wrote... The nail-biting martial music mixes with spine-tingling Polish themes to reach a gloriously romantic and bombastic conclusion... a splendid reading by Bostock. The disc receives one of Classico's best recordings to date with painstaking preparation in evidence throughout as his Munich players play with true commitment and dedication" (MusicWeb)
Vinyl LP pressing. Recorded for Impulse in 1967, a session originally intended to be a trio date morphed into an 11 ½-minute duet on "Summertime" between drummer Jones and bassist Davis when the guitarist did not appear. The following day, saxophonist Frank Foster and pianist Billy Greene joined in to round out the rest of the cuts including "Elvin's Guitar Blues," which features Jones' only recorded guitar performance. Verve By Request Series features 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit.
