Boult's 1970 recording of the Enigma Variations offers similar riches to those of Barbirolli with the additional bonus of a slightly superior recorded sound. Boult's account has authority, freshness and a beautiful sense of spontaneity: each variation emerges from the preceding one with a natural feeling of flow and progression.
There's warmth and affection, coupled with an air of nobility and poise, and the listener is always acutely aware that this is a performance by a great conductor who's lived a lifetime with the music. You need only sample the passionate stirrings of Variation 1 (the composer's wife), the athletic and boisterous 'Troyte' variation, or the autumnal, elegiac glow of the famous 'Nimrod' variation to realise that this is a very special document indeed. The LSO, on top form, plays with superlative skill and poetry and the excellent recording has been exceptionally well transferred to CD. The Pomp and Circumstance Marches, recorded six years later with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, are invigoratingly fresh and direct – indeed the performances are so full of energy and good humour that it's hard to believe that Boult was in his late eighties at the time of recording! A classic.