I think I know where I can find used vinyl records of Sir Adrian Boult’s Elgar symphonies. I’m tempted ...
Boult was a great Elgarian and superb in Vaughan Williams, but I don’t know how he did it! Whereas Barbirolli marked up the scores for every player in his orchestra, and was exciting to watch, Boult seemed to me to just stand there and wave both arms in synchronization - something he deplored when taking master classes for conductors. But there’s no denying his results.
Going right back, the electrical recordings made by Elgar himself at the then new EMI Abbey Road Studio are available on CD. The sound quality in mono is better than expected for the early 1930s but the performances are definitive.
The conductor I recall most vividly from my youth is the Russian Kyrill Kondrashin, who conducted without a score and without a baton. His thumb seemed about two feet long. Hastings was a provincial warm-up for London concerts, and you could see Kondrashin bringing every instrument in, and shading the dynamics by hand gestures. Pretty much the exact opposite of Boult, but both got brilliant results.
Can’t wait for my optical cartridge to arrive to get the thread back on topic ...