Michael Stern - Elgar: Enigma Variations/ Vaughn Williams: The Wasps/ Greensleeves

"Do not, I mean this absolutely, let this one pass you by. It is a treat at all levels, and just you wait till you hear the string section’s technical finesse and execution throughout." — Harry Pearson, HPSoundings

"In its openhearted commitment to letting Elgar's orchestration serve as the interpretative guide, and so moving mostly at a leasirely pace where everything that's going can be properly heard, this performance could also serve as any person's guide to the instruments of the orchestra...It's one of those satisfying instances where the recording engineer has caught perfectly the sound and sense of being there...with the sheer presence and weight that real sound possesses." —Laurence Vittes, Gramophone

A new symphonic tour-de-force from the Kansas City Symphony! This colorful, beloved English music has been captured in brilliant HDCD sound by Grammy-winning engineer Keith O. Johnson.

The Kansas City Symphony garnered tremendous critical acclaim for their first project on Reference Recordings, incidental music for The Tempest by Sullivan and Sibelius (Shakespeare's Tempest, RR-115). Their second release on Reference, Britten's Orchestra, received a Grammy for Best Surround Sound for both the engineer and producer, as well as rave reviews everywhere! (Britten's Orchestra, RR-120 is now unfortunately out of print).

The symphony was thrilled to work again with conductor Michael Stern, the son of famed violinist Isaac Stern. Now in his eighth season as music director, the Kansas City Symphony has been much praised for its remarkable artistic growth and development since his tenure began. He is also the founder of the Iris Chamber Orchestra in Memphis, Tennessee, and in addition to Reference, has recorded for Sony, Hyperion, Denon, Arabesque and Naxos.

Producer David Frost has won Grammy awards in 2005, 2009 and 2011 for Classical Producer of the Year. He has produced a large roster of stars and Grammy-winning titles.