The sound is exemplary in clarity, warmth, and balance. None of this is “great” music but committed Elgarians will relish the delicacy and sensibility of Elder’s performance.

Miniatures though they be, the two Wand of Youth suites are not just “light” music, in that there is much here which is – charming, yes, but also emotionally deeply evocative and musically profound. Their quality has attracted recordings from celebrated conductors such as Boult, Handley, Mackerras, Bryden Thomas and van Beinum, to name but a few; now Mark Elder includes them in his series of Elgar works with the Hallé, which has hitherto garnered much critical acclaim – my own favourite recordings of the symphonies are Elder’s.

These works were based on material written by Elgar many years before as a teenager as accompaniment to a play, reworked by the composer as a man of fifty while simultaneously composing his First Symphony - so they presumably provided some relief from that arduous task. They are characteristically innocent and nostalgic, evoking an idealised fairyland free from adult taint; both were dedicated to friends, as was Elgar’s custom, most famously in the Enigma Variations.

The variety of orchestral colour and melodic invention mark these suites out as typical of the composer; the Overture of the first suite starts with a bustling motif played with great brio followed by a falling Seventh –a motif very recognisably Elgarian. A gentle “Serenade”, an elegant parody of a Handelian minuet, a shimmering, Mendelssohnian “Sun Dance” ending in a blaze of brass encompass so many of the tropes we know from the more famous works while also paying homage to Elgar’s predecessors; while the string passage is all Elgar, if the sinuous clarinet motif at the heart of the “Fairy Pipers” isn’t at least unconsciously inspired by Tchaikovsky’s “Arabian Dance” from the Nutcracker, I have no ears.

The pattern of great thematic and colourific variety continues into the second suite, although I do not find it quite as uniformly captivating as the first. Elgar introduces a glockenspiel into the “The Little Bells”, employs graceful arabesques to suggest the flow of water in “Fountain Dance” and creates two contrasting bear portraits, the first melancholy, `the second rumbustious; Elder and the Hallé successfully capture all these moods.

The Nursery Suite was Elgar’s final foray into mining his juvenilia: it is more, lovely, pastoral music, including an extended solo for flute in The Serious Doll, played with assured, liquid musicality by Katherine Baker. Likewise, Lyn Fletcher plays a fine violin solo in the final movement, Envoy (Coda). The Wagon (Passes) was encored at its premiere at the request of the Duke and Duchess of York (the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). Dreaming has one of those long, languorous melodies we know from the symphonies.

Bonus “lollipops” are provided in the form of the lush, orchestrated versions of Salut d’amour and Chanson de nuit, both so delightfully sentimental and redolent of the Edwardian drawing room, beautifully played.

The sound is exemplary in clarity, warmth, and balance. None of this is “great” music but committed Elgarians will relish the delicacy and sensibility of Elder’s performance.

– MusicWeb International (Ralph Moore)

Hallé and Sir Mark Elder are reunited with Sunwook Kim in long awaited studio recordings of repertoire with which he won the Leeds Piano Competition. London-based Sunwook Kim came to international recognition when he won the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006, aged just 18, becoming the competition's youngest winner for 40 years, as well as its first Asian winner. His performance of Brahms's Concerto No. 1 with Hallé and Sir Mark Elder in the competition's finals attracted unanimous praise from the press. Since then, he has established a reputation as one of the finest pianists of his generation, appearing as a concerto soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras and in major recital venues in London, across Europe and in Japan. Sunwook Kim has also enjoyed an ongoing relationship with the Hallé Orchestra and Sir Mark Elder, performing in a variety of repertoire across a number of seasons. Here they return to Brahms' two masterworks; pieces which were separated by two decades and which display very differing musical and emotional outlooks, from the more ardent First to the more rhapsodic Second. Elder and Kim perform the Second Concerto together at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester in April 2017.

This exhilarating album contains stunning live symphonic performances of works by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Included in this recording are his Symphony No. 5 in E Flat Major, Op. 82, Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105, and En Saga, Op. 9.

“...raw, massive, glacial, thrilling. Elder and the Halle have a strong track record in this repertoire.” - The Observer

The Hallé announces the latest release in their series of works by Vaughan Williams, with two landmark pieces which are pinnacles of the composer’s output. Composed between 1901 and 1904, the Songs of Travel, settings of Robert Louis Stevenson for voice and piano (some orchestrated by the composer and some by composer and arranger Roy Douglas), proved a significant landmark in the emergence of Vaughan Willams’s personal voice. The work reflects the composer’s interest in folk song and is characterized by highly evocative orchestrations, ardent melodic lines, wide ranging expressions of emotion from joy to melancholy and highly effective word setting. Winner of the Lieder Prize at the 1991 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, Neal Davies has sung with the world’s leading orchestras, conductors and opera companies and received much critical praise for performances in concert, on stage and in recordings. Ralph Vaughan Williams’s ‘masque for dancing’, Job, is one of his supreme achievements and was considered by Gustav Holst to be a masterpiece. Scored for large orchestra, the work was written between 1927 and 1930 and shows the composer’s imagination at its most vivid. Inspired by William Blake’s dramatic engravings, interpreting a Biblical narrative which examines human suffering in relation to a deity of justice, Vaughan Williams deploys traditional folk dances as a means of creating an idiomatic English dance style.

The Hallé completes its highly regarded Ring cycle, with the live recording of its acclaimed Bridgewater Hall performance under Sir Mark Elder. “Roaring jubilation and radiant beauty from Elder and the Halle…. Elder is a superb Wagnerian, acutely conscious of the complex relationship between tempo and pace, and immaculate in his judgment both of the span of each act and the ebb and flow of detail within it. Thrilling climaxes alternated with moments of astonishing beauty and quiet, almost exquisite terror.” (The Guardian on the Halle’s performance of Siegfried) The third element of Wagner’s Ring cycle contains humor, drama and a concluding ecstasy as the eponymous hero meets his heroine Brünnhilde, setting up the explosive finale of the concluding opera. With enormous orchestral forces and dramatic use of leitmotiv themes the music portrays the full gamut of emotions and provides a perfect vehicle to display the heights of the Hallé’s powers under Elder. This production was recorded at the Bridgewater Hall, capturing all the drama of the acclaimed live performance.

Following their acclaimed previous Wagner opera releases, Halle presents the remastered recording of their 2013 Prom performance, recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall. “Working with his orchestra, the Halle, Sir Mark Elder produced an account of this miraculous score which, for a combination of passion and precision, surpassed any other that I have ever heard.” (Michael Tanner, The Spectator, August 2013) Wagner’s last opera, Parsifal, which the composer declared to be his “farewell to the world” has been described as being in many ways the most “total” of all his “total art works.” His spiritual swansong unfurls as a slow-moving, ritualistic drama, and is arguably the best-suited of all his operas to the style of concert staging offered here. This release was recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, London at the 2013 BBC Proms, featuring dramatic spatial placing of off-stage choruses and musicians. It was audio remastered by Halle’s award-winning engineer Stever Portnoi: the original multitrack recordings of both rehearsals and concert were edited to eliminate audience noise whilst retaining the sense of place and the staged nature of the performance. The edited multitrack was then remixed to achieve a sound in keeping with Halle label releases.

This album celebrates a warm and close musical relationship between composer, conductor, and orchestra - and the extraordinary impact the Covid pandemic had on British cultural life. Sir Mark and the Hall� commissioned and premiered the works on this album between 2020 and 2025, with Huw Watkins writing with the specific sound of the Hall� in mind. Symphony No. 2 and Fanfare for the Hall� were born of the pandemic. The symphony was composed during Covid lockdown, and Watkins said this influenced the work's character, with a determination that it should end positively. This is uplifting music, crafted in a symphonic tradition whilst offering a fresh voice and skilful use of instrumental writing. The performance was awarded the South Bank Sky Arts Classical Music Award for 2022. The Fanfare for the Hall� was commissioned by the Hall� to celebrate the return of the orchestra to the concert platform following the first Covid lockdown. Scored for 11 brass instruments, the work moves from a tentative beginning to a confident and defiant conclusion - arguably reflecting much of the national mood during the pandemic. Following almost a quarter of a century as Music Director of the Hall�, Sir Mark premiered Watkins' Concerto for Orchestra in his first concert as Conductor Emeritus. The piece particularly reflects the qualities of the orchestra and it's musicians, and their longstanding relationship with Sir Mark. The work exudes positivity, with rhythmic deftness and highly effective orchestral colourations, displaying the musical strengths of all sections of the orchestra, in writing that is beguiling and joyous.

Taken from a rapturously received and critically acclaimed performance at The Bridgewater Hall (with The Times' 5* review describing a 'splendid night' and hailing the magnificent sound of the 'blazing Halle) this recording will prove essential for those wishing to hear the work in the intended four movement form. The recording is accompanied by a booklet containing a personal introduction from Kahchun Wong and a note from Dr. John A. Phillips, surveying the material Bruckner left for the Finale and detailing the work done on reconstructing it for performance.

This album celebrates the work of Thomas Ades, one of Britain's 'most imaginative composers' The Guardian, and Artist-in-Residence of the Halle (2023-25). Alongside a survey of his recent works for orchestra are two pieces by composers who have been championed by Ades. Conducted by Thomas Ades, 'one of the most accomplished and complete musicians of his generation' (New York Times) this album features three world premiere recordings, including Ades' Aquifer. Taking it's name from an underground geological structure through which water seeps and flows, the work features orchestral writing which is full of colour and movement, flamboyant climaxes and rich expression. Written during the first Covid lockdown, for an orchestra that had to play socially distanced, Dawn is constructed from a slowly unfolding passacaglia which passes between instruments, depicting the sunrise moving continuously around the world, in music of sonic beauty. Repetition is also at the heart of Shanty, as material is passed between orchestral voices, with hypnotic and captivating results. In contrast, ingenious use of imitation and repetition produce a gripping effect in the invigorating brass fanfare Tower. Premiere recordings of two works closely associated with the Halle complete this album. Leith's Cartoon Sun, described as 'mesmeric' (The Arts Desk), was commissioned by the Halle. The processional piece displays a rich soundscape, coloured with large tolling bells and stunning orchestral climaxes. The Halle and Ades gave the world premiere of William Marsey's Man with Limp Wrist' in 2023. Inspired by a Salman Toor oil painting and with writing which is rooted in historical melody and harmony, the music is full of emotion and expression. Thomas Ades, CBE: internationally acclaimed composer, pianist and conductor whose work has been presented in leading concert halls and opera houses worldwide. Recordings of his works have received numerous international awards and in 2024 Ades received the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal from Sir Simon Rattle, who described him as being an 'outrageously gifted' musician.

This release captures the January 2025 concert from Manchester's Bridgewater Hall. Rapturously received by the capacity audience and acclaimed by the critics, the Halle's performance of this monumental work marks a significant milestone in Kahchun Wong's tenure as Principal Conductor. Thought of as being the composer's most ambitious search for the meaning of life, the Second Symphony is conceived and delivered on an epic scale, featuring soloists, choir and an enlarged orchestra. The music offers a directness of expression which transports the listener through a series of climaxes and reflections, culminating in a Last Judgement in which the composer said, 'an overwhelming love illuminates our being'. The release is accompanied by a personal introduction from Kahchun Wong, reflecting on what the music of Mahler means to him, and a programme note by Mahler expert, composer David Matthews.

This album marks the beginning of an innovative journey for the Halle under it's newly appointed Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Kahchun Wong. Internationally acclaimed for his dynamic stage presence and his thoughtful exploration of Eastern and Western artistic legacies, Singaporean-born Kahchun Wong assumes his new role with the Halle in September 2024, following his electrifying debut with the orchestra last season. This recording of the complete The Prince of the Pagodas ballet, the first in over a decade, reflects Wong's interest in Balinese Gamelan and the deep connection he made during his composition studies to the work of Britten. Music which he says, 'resonates deeply inside me'.

Sir Mark Elder has long been hailed for his interpretation of the works of Sir Edward Elgar. This special release box set celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Hallé label and marks Hallé’s Elgar oratorios festival at the Bridgewater Hall in June 2023. Elgar’s three major oratorios are brought together in this special release box set. The multiple award-winning recordings feature the highly acclaimed Hallé Chorus and Youth Choir and a stellar line-up of major international vocal soloists.

This album marks the culmination of two special Hallé collaborations and includes four major pieces from one of the most distinctive of current British compositional voices. Delyana Lazarova (Hallé Assistant Conductor 2020-23) and composer Dobrinka Tabakova (Hallé Artist in Residence 2022-23) were both born in the historic city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Working together for the first time during their time with the orchestra they formed a strong musical connection in which the Hallé musicians displayed a close understanding of the intricacies and dialect of Tabakova’s musical language. This album contains two of Tabakova’s major orchestral works. The three-part Earth Suite, which the composer says was inspired by ‘the overwhelming force of Nature’, recently drew ‘exquisite playing’ from the Hallé (Bachtrack, April 2023).

Orpheus Comet features fast rhythmic material combined with atmospheric transparent orchestrations and a glorious climax featuring quotations from Monteverdi. The two significant concertos for strings and soloists included on this album solidified Tabakova’s reputation as an outstanding contemporary voice and display the composer’s close affinity with string instruments. Ukrainian-British Maxim Rysanov, is one of Tabakova’s longest collaborators who premiered the Concerto for Viola and Strings in 2004, a piece described as being ’saturated with an inner, captivating and natural energy’ (Culture Magazine, Nov 2004). The Concerto for Cello and Strings (whose score was described as ‘gorgeous’ by the Daily Telegraph, Australia) is here performed by Guy Johnson, one of the most exciting British cellists of his generation.

Among the first releases on the Hallé recording label, established in 2003, were Elgar’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2. This recording revisits those works nearly 20 years later and marks the culmination of Sir Mark Elder’s tenure as Music Director. The First Symphony was premiered in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, in 1908 by the Hallé and its Music Director, Hans Richter, to whom the symphony is dedicated. It is a work of astonishing musical and structural mastery which was greeted with worldwide acclaim, receiving one hundred performances in its first year. The musical material demonstrates Elgar’s skill at melody and transformation and presents a wide emotional range.

By contrast, the Second Symphony, with its deeply personal ‘pilgrimage of a soul,’ initially received a more muted reception. However, it came into its own after the end of the First World War when the tone of remembrance and tribute possibly reflected the national mood, in what is now considered to be one of Elgar’s finest works.

Premiered by the Hallé under Sir John Barbirolli in 1953, the Sinfonia antartica originated in Vaughan Williams’ score for the film ‘Scott of the Antarctic’. With a highly original scoring (including solo soprano, wordless women’s chorus, organ, piano and extensive percussion section), the work depicts the struggle of man over nature, as epitomized in Captain Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole. The symphony is characterized with heroic themes, evocative orchestral effects and music which is at turns emotive and powerful. In contrast the Ninth Symphony depicts the more philosophical challenges of mankind. Initially receiving a lukewarm reception it has come to be seen as a work imbued with what Vaughan Williams authority Michael Kennedy described as ‘a new richness of sound’. This enigmatic work is scored for standard orchestral forces, with the addition of saxophones and flugelhorn which add orchestral color. This was the composer’s last symphony and was premiered just four months before his death in 1958. In construction it stands as the culmination of his compositional career, with elusive and constantly developing themes and evocative depictions of a wide range of emotions. The symphonies are coupled with two orchestral works, Norfolk Rhapsody No.1 and The Lark Ascending, which were previously released as part of an English music mixed composer collection.

This boxed set includes all nine Vaughan Williams symphonies, attractively packaged and released at a special price to mark the occasion of the composer’s 150th anniversary. These award-winning performances are accompanied by an extensive booklet, including new material charting the Hallé’s historic relationship with Vaughan Williams, and featuring material drawn from the orchestra’s archives. The releases follow the joint Hallé/BBC Philharmonic festival of Vaughan Williams Toward the Unknown Region - RVW150 which will run in Manchester from February to May 2022.