Paul Watkins (cello), BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew DavisChandos CHAN 10709 ****

Paul Watkins is a gutsy, deft interpreter of Elgar's late Cello Concerto. He knows when to let the music muse, how to handle its lightfootedness, and isn't shy of those rhetorical hesitations which, in this piece, can function as a sort of equivalent of an Italian tenor's sob. He's well supported in all his moods by Andrew Davis and the BBC Philharmonic. The account of the Introduction and Allegro is good in cut and thrust, but perhaps a little inert in tranquility. And the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, which can tip over into rodomontade, are handled with an even- handed balance that steers them well clear of the tub-thumping excesses with which they're often associated. Elgar wrote good tunes that don't need heavy underlining to make their effect. url.ie/f1f2