Elgar: Enigma Variations & Organ Sonata

Here is Elgar's much-loved masterpiece in a form never before recorded. Virtuoso organist Keith John has transcribed several 'masterworks' for the organ repertoire, including the Bach/Busoni Chaconne, Handel's 'Water Music', Schumann's Toccata, Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Suite—and now Elgar's 'Enigma' Variations. The idea for this recording was born when Stephen Layton, conductor of Polyphony and Master of Music at The Temple Church, telephoned excitedly after hearing Mr John play his transcription of the Variations at a lunchtime concert in the Temple Church. Stephen's message was, basically, "Fantastic! Amazing! You've got to record this." So we have, paired with the famous Organ Sonata of 1895.

CDA67363  64 minutes 48 seconds
EDITOR’S CHOICE (ORGANISTS' REVIEW)
‘One gladly salutes Keith John for his virtuoso performances … a very fine achievement’ (Gramophone)
‘A technically brilliant performance that employs the instrument’s full range of colours and sonorities’ (BBC Music Magazine)
‘A very convincing account of a far too-little-known masterpiece … This is a real performance which I have been very pleased to hear’ (International Record Review)