Despite his eminence, Pablo Casals did not make a substantial recording with an orchestra until he was in his early fifties. Unlike violin concertos, cello concertos were not considered a priority by the record companies, while Casals himself seems not to have been in a hurry to make discs of any kind. The HMV concerto recordings, made in the 1930s and 1940s when the great cellist was in his sixties, are among the finest documents of Casals. In the Elgar Concerto, which benefits from the superb backing of his friend Adrian Boult, Casals at 68 is still in glorious form. His melting tone and effortless phrasing are used to wonderfully expansive effect in the Haydn and Boccherini concertos.