Bernstein rehearses “Nimrod“ from Elgar’s ’Enigma Variations’

Leonard Bernstein made his one and only concert appearance with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1982, his programme including Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.“ The Royal Festival Concert was filmed for television and so was the first rehearsal. Excerpts from this have been issued on DVD and here is the first play-through of Bernstein’s controversial reading of one of Elgar’s most famous pieces. He and the orchestra didn’t hit it off at all, so once he’d recorded the “Enigma“ and three Elgar marches for DG the following day, he let it be known that he didn’t wish to work with them again. The feeling was mutual! ... From ’ICA Classics’ DVD ICAD 5098. The concert performance of “Nimrod“ is also available here on YouTube as per this link ...