“What’s the matter with them Billy? They sit there like a lot of stuffed pigs!” Elgar commented to his friend W.H Reid, the leader of the Queen’s Hall Orchestra after the chilly reception given to the 2nd Symphony at its premiere in 1911. More emotionally complex and ambiguous than the first symphony, the 2nd seems to hint at the apocalyptic events that would be unleashed just three years on. “Be like a woman dropping a flower on a man’s grave” wrote the composer of the ‘Spirit of Delight’ theme in the coda of the second movement.

This eagerly awaited Elgar 2 from Petrenko and the RLPO will further delight those fans who bought their recording of the 1st Symphony, released on Onyx to critical acclaim last year.