Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934… Read Full Bio ↴Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English Romantic composer. Several of his first major orchestral works, including the Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, were greeted with acclaim. He also composed oratorios, chamber music, symphonies and instrumental concertos. He was knighted at Buckingham Palace on 5 July 1904 and appointed Master of the King's Music in 1924.
Edward Elgar was born in the small village of Lower Broadheath outside Worcester to William Elgar, a piano tuner and music dealer, and his wife Anne (née Greening). He was the fourth of seven children. His mother, Anne, had converted to Catholicism shortly before Edward's birth, so Edward was baptised and brought up as a Roman Catholic.
Elgar was an early riser, and would often turn to reading Voltaire, Drayton, historical classics, Longfellow and other works encouraged by his mother. By the age of eight, he was taking piano and violin lessons, and would often listen to his father playing organ at St. George's church, and soon took it up also. His prime interest, however, was the violin, and his first written music was for that instrument.
Surrounded by sheet music, instruments, and music textbooks in his father's shop in Worcester's High Street, the young Elgar became self-taught in music theory. On warm summer days, he would take manuscripts into the countryside to study them (he was a passionate and adventurous early cyclist from the age of 5). Thus there began for him a strong association between music and nature. As he was later to say, "There is music in the air, music all around us, the world is full of it and you simply take as much as you require."
At the age of 15, Elgar had hoped to go to Leipzig, Germany to study music, but lacking the funds, he instead left school and began working for a local solicitor. Around this time he made his first public appearances as a violinist and organist. After a few months, he left the solicitor and embarked on a musical career, giving piano and violin lessons, and working occasionally in his father's shop. Elgar was an active member of the Worcester Glee Club, along with his father, and he accompanied singers, played violin, composed and arranged works, and even conducted for the first time. At 22 he took up the post of bandmaster at the Worcester and County Lunatic Asylum in Powick, three miles south-west of Worcester, a progressive institution which believed in the recuperative powers of music. He composed here too; some of the pieces for the asylum orchestra (music in dance forms) were rediscovered and performed locally in 1996.
In many ways, his years as a young Worcestershire violinist were his happiest. He played in the first violins at the Worcester and Birmingham Festivals, and one great experience was to play Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 6 and Stabat Mater under the composer's baton. As part of a wind quintet and for his musical friends, he arranged dozens of pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, and other masters, honing his arranging and compositional skills, and applying them to his earliest pieces. Although somewhat solitary and introspective by nature, Elgar thrived in Worcester's musical circles.
In his first trips abroad in 1880-2, Elgar visited Paris and Leipzig, attended concerts by first rate orchestras, and was exposed to Wagnerism, then the rage. Returning to his more provincial milieu increased his desire for a wider fame. He often went to London in an attempt to get his works published, but this period in his life found him frequently despondent and low on money. He wrote to a friend in April 1884, "My prospects are about as hopeless as ever...I am not wanting in energy I think, so sometimes I conclude that 'tis want of ability...I have no money--not a cent."
At 29, through his teaching, he met (Caroline) Alice Roberts, daughter of the late Major-General Sir Henry Roberts and a published author of verse and prose fiction. Eight years older than Elgar, she became his wife three years later against the wishes of her family. Her faith in him and her courage in marrying 'beneath her class' were strongly supportive to his career. She dealt with his mood swings and was a generous musical critic. Alice was also his business manager and social secretary. She did her best to gain him the attention of influential society, though with limited success. In time he would learn to accept the honours given him, realizing that they mattered more to her and her social class. She also gave up some of her personal aspirations to further his career. In her diary she later admitted, "The care of a genius is enough of a life work for any woman." As an engagement present, Elgar presented her with the short violin and piano piece Salut d'amour. With Alice's encouragement, the Elgars moved to London to be closer to the centre of British musical life, and Edward started composing in earnest. The stay was unsuccessful, however, and they were obliged to return to Great Malvern, where Edward could earn a living teaching and conducting local musical ensembles. Though disappointed at the London episode, the return to the country proved better for Elgar's health and as a base of musical inspiration, bringing him closer to nature and to his friends.
During the 1890s Elgar gradually built up a reputation as a composer, chiefly of works for the great choral festivals of the Midlands. The Black Knight and King Olaf (1896), both inspired by Longfellow, The Light of Life and Caractacus were all modestly successful and he obtained a long-standing publisher in Novello and Company. He also generously recommended the young composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to the Three Choirs Festival for a concert piece, which helped establish the younger man's career. Elgar was catching the eyes of the prominent critics, although their reviews were still lukewarm, and he was in demand as a festival composer, but he was just getting by financially and not feeling appreciated the way he wanted to be. In 1898, he continued to be "very sick at heart over music" and hoped to find a way to succeed with a larger work. His friend Jaeger tried to lift his spirits, "A day's attack of the blues...will not drive away your desire, your necessity, which is to exercise those creative faculties which a kind providence has given you. Your time of universal recognition will come."
In 1899, that prediction suddenly came true. At the age of 42, Elgar's produced his first major orchestral work, the Enigma Variations, which was premièred in London under the baton of the eminent German conductor Hans Richter. In Elgar's own words, "I have sketched a set of Variations on an original theme. The Variations have amused me because I've labelled them with the nicknames of my particular friends...that is to say I've written the variations each one to represent the mood of the 'party' (the person)... and have written what I think they would have written--if they were asses enough to compose". Elgar dedicated the work "To my friends pictured within".
The large-scale work was received with general acclaim, heralded for its originality, charm, and fine craftsmanship, and it established Elgar as the pre-eminent British composer of his generation. It is formally titled Variations on an Original Theme; the word "Enigma" appears over the first six measures of music, which led to the familiar version of the title. The enigma is that, although there are fourteen variations on the "original theme", the 'enigma' theme, which Elgar said 'runs through and over the whole set' is never heard. Many later commentators have observed that although Elgar is today regarded as a characteristically English composer, his orchestral music and this work in particular share much with the Central European tradition typified at the time by the work of Richard Strauss. Indeed, the Enigma Variations were well-received in Germany, and persist to this day as a world-wide concert favourite.
The following year saw the production at the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival of his choral setting of Cardinal Newman's poem The Dream of Gerontius. Despite a disastrous first performance due to poorly-prepared performers, the German première was much better received and the work was established within a few years as one of Elgar's greatest. It is now regarded as one of the finest examples of English choral music from any era.
Elgar is probably best known for the five Pomp and Circumstance Marches, composed between 1901 and 1930. Shortly after he composed the first march, Elgar set the trio melody to words by A. C. Benson as a Coronation Ode to mark the coronation of King Edward VII. The suggestion had already been made (allegedly by the future King himself) that words should be fitted to the broad tune which formed the trio section of this march. Against the advice of his friends, Elgar suggested that Benson furnish further words to allow him to include it in the new work. The result was Land of Hope and Glory, which formed the finale of the ode and was also issued (with slightly different words) as a separate song. The work was immensely popular and became a second national anthem. At last, he had made the leap from accomplished back-country musician to England's foremost composer. It also gained Elgar the highest recognition he could have dreamed of--honorary degrees, a knighthood, special royal audiences, and a triumphal three-day festival of his music at Covent Garden attended by the King and Queen.
Between 1902 and 1914 Elgar enjoyed phenomenal success, made four visits to the USA including one conducting tour, and earned considerable fees from the performance of his music. Between 1905 and 1908 Elgar held the post of Professor of Music at the University of Birmingham. His lectures there caused controversy owing to remarks he made about other English composers and English music in general; he was quoted as saying "English music is white - it evades everything". The University of Birmingham's Special Collections contain an archive of letters written by Elgar. His new life as a celebrity was a mixed blessing as it often provoked ill-health from his high-strung nature and interrupted his privacy. He complained to Jaeger in 1903, "My life is one continual giving up of little things which I love."
Elgar's Symphony No. 1 (1908) was given one hundred performances in its first year, the violin concerto (1910) was commissioned by the world-renowned violinist Fritz Kreisler, and in 1911, the year of the completion of his Symphony No. 2, he had the Order of Merit bestowed upon him. In 1912, he moved back to London, again to be closer to musical society but to the detriment of his love of the countryside and to his general mood.
Elgar's musical legacy is primarily orchestral and choral, but he did write for soloists and smaller instrumental groups. His one work for brass band, The Severn Suite (later arranged by the composer for orchestra), remains an important part of the brass band repertoire. This work was dedicated to his friend George Bernard Shaw. It is occasionally performed in its arrangement by Sir Ivor Atkins for organ as the composer's second Organ Sonata; Elgar's first, much earlier (1895) Organ Sonata was written specifically for the instrument in a highly orchestral style, and remains a cornerstone of the English Romantic organ repertoire.
During World War I his music began to fall out of fashion. The war was overturning his world and his time. He himself grew to hate his 'Pomp and Circumstance' March No.1 with its popular 'Land of Hope and Glory' tune, which he felt had been made into a jingoistic song, not in keeping with the tragic loss of life in the war. This was captured in the film Elgar by Ken Russell. After the death of his wife in 1920, loneliness and declining interest in his art fostered little in the way of new works of importance. Shortly before her death he composed the elegiac Cello Concerto, often described as his last masterpiece.
Elgar lived in the village of Kempsey from 1923 to 1927, during which time he was made Master of the King's Musick.
He was the first composer to make extensive recordings of his own compositions. HMV (His Master's Voice) recorded much of his music acoustically from 1914 onwards and then began a series of electrical recordings in 1926 that continued until 1933, including his "Enigma Variations," "Falstaff," the first and second symphonies, his cello and violin concertos, all of the "Pomp and Circumstance" marches, and other orchestral works. Part of a 1927 rehearsal of the second symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra was also recorded and later issued.
Elgar's recordings of his violin concerto and the Enigma Variations have been reissued on CD by EMIIn November 1931, Elgar was filmed by Pathe for a newsreel depicting a recording session of Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 at the opening of the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. It is believed to be the only surviving sound film of Elgar, who makes a brief remark before conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, asking the musicians to "play this like you've never played it before." Silent films of the composer have also survived.[citation needed]
In the 1932 recording of the violin concerto, the ageing composer worked with the American violinist Yehudi Menuhin, who was then only 16 years old; they worked well together and Menuhin warmly recalled his association with the composer years later, when he performed the concerto with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Menuhin later conducted an award-winning recording of Elgar's Cello Concerto with the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and much of the major orchestral music.
Elgar's recordings usually featured such orchestras as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra (which reverted in 1928 to its earlier name, New Symphony Orchestra) and, in 1933, the newly-founded London Philharmonic Orchestra. Elgar's recordings were released on 78-rpm discs by both HMV and RCA Victor. In later years, EMI reissued the recordings on LP and CD.
In his later years, Elgar befriended young conductors such as Adrian Boult and Malcolm Sargent who championed his music when it was out of fashion.
At the end of his life Elgar began work on an opera, The Spanish Lady, and accepted a commission from the BBC to compose a Third Symphony. His final illness prevented their completion.
He died on 23 February 1934 and is buried at St. Wulstan's Church in Little Malvern. Within four months, two more great English composers - Gustav Holst and Frederick Delius - were also dead.
Works
Orchestral:
Froissart, Overture for orchestra, Op.19 (1890)
Serenade for string orchestra, Op.20 (revised version of Three Pieces for string orchestra, 1888-92)
Sursum corda for brass, organ and strings, Op.11 (1894)
Three Bavarian Dances for orchestra, Op.27 (1897)
Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma) for orchestra, Op.36 (1899)
Sea Pictures, Song cycle for contralto and orchestra, Op.37 (1897-99)
Chanson de Matin and Chanson de Nuit, for small orchestra (arrangement of the salon pieces for violin and piano), Op.15 (1899)
Cockaigne (In London Town), Overture for orchestra, Op.40 (1900-01)
Pomp and Circumstance, Marches No.1 and 2 for orchestra, Op.39 (1901)
Funeral March from Grania and Diarmid for orchestra, Op.42 (1902, from the incidental music to the play by W.B. Yeats)
Dream Children, Two pieces for chamber orchestra, Op.43 (1902)
In the South (Alassio), Concert Overture for orchestra, Op.50 (1903-04)
Pomp and Circumstance, March No.3 for orchestra (1904)
Introduction and Allegro for string quartet and string orchestra, Op.47 (1904-05)
Pomp and Circumstance, March No.4 for orchestra (1907)
The Wand of Youth, Suite No. 1 for orchestra, Op.1a (1867-71, rev. 1907)
The Wand of Youth, Suite No. 2 for orchestra, Op.1b (1867-71, rev. 1908)
Symphony No.1 in A flat for orchestra, Op.55 (1907-08)
Elegy for string orchestra, Op.58 (1909)
Romance for bassoon and orchestra, Op.62 (1909)
Concerto for violin and orchestra in B minor, Op.61 (1909-10)
Symphony No.2 in E flat for orchestra, Op.63 (1909-11)
Coronation March for orchestra, Op.65 (1911)
The Crown of India, Suite for orchestra, Op.66 (1911-12)
Falstaff, Symphonic Study for orchestra, Op.68 (1913)
Sospiri for string orchestra and harp, Op.70 (1914)
Polonia, Symphonic Prelude for orchestra, Op.76 (1915)
The Starlight Express, Suite for vocal soloists and orchestra, Op.78 (from the incidental music to the play by Algernon Blackwood, 1915-16)
The Sanguine Fan for orchestra, Op.81 (1917)
Concerto for cello and orchestra in E minor, Op.85 (1918-19)
Empire March for orchestra (1924)
Suite from Arthur for chamber orchestra (from the incidental music to Laurence Binyon's Arthur, 1924)
Minuet from Beau Brummel for orchestra (1928-29)
Pomp and Circumstance, March No.5 for orchestra (1930)
Nursery Suite for orchestra (1931)
Severn Suite, Op. 87, for brass band (1930) or orchestra (1932)
Mina for chamber orchestra (1933)
Symphony No 3 for orchestra, Op.88 (sketches, 1932-34, elaborated by Anthony Payne 1972-97)
Piano Concerto, Op.90 (sketches, 1909-25, elaborated by Robert Walker)
Pomp and Circumstance, March No.6 for orchestra
Cantatas and oratorios:
The Black Knight, Symphony/Cantata for chorus and orchestra, Op.25 (1889-92)
From the Bavarian Highlands for chorus and orchestra, Op.27 (1895-96)
The Light of Life (Lux Christi), Oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.29 (1896)
Scenes From The Saga Of King Olaf, Cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op. 30 (1896)
The Banner of St George, Ballad for chorus and orchestra, Op.33 (1897)
Te Deum & Benedictus for chorus and orchestra, Op.34 (1897)
Caractacus, Cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.35 (1897-98)
The Dream of Gerontius, Oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.38 (1899-1900)
Coronation Ode for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.44 (1901-02, rev. 1911)
The Apostles, Oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.49 (1902-03)
The Kingdom, Oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.51 (1901-06)
The Crown of India, Imperial Masque for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.66 (1911-12)
The Music Makers, Ode for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.69 (1912)
The Spirit of England for soprano/tenor, chorus and orchestra, Op.80 (1915-17)
The Smoking Cantata for baritone soloist and orchestra. Written in 1919, this piece was probably never intended to be performed and was given the absurd opus number of 1001. Its duration is less than a minute.
Songs:
"Is she not passing fair?" Text by Charles, Duke of Orleans; translated by Louis Stuart Costello. (1908) From Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection
Chamber music:
Salut d'Amour (Liebesgruss) for violin and piano, Op.12 (1888)
Sonata for violin and piano, Op.82 (1918)
String Quartet in E minor, Op.83 (1918)
Piano Quintet in A minor, Op.84 (1918-19)
Soliloquy for solo oboe (1930)
Solo piano:
Concert Allegro (1901)
Skizze (1903)
In Smyrna (1905)
Adieu (pub. 1932)
Organ
Sonata in G Major, Op. 28
"Second Organ Sonata", Op. 87a (an arrangement by Ivor Atkins of the Severn Suite)
Edward Elgar was born in the small village of Lower Broadheath outside Worcester to William Elgar, a piano tuner and music dealer, and his wife Anne (née Greening). He was the fourth of seven children. His mother, Anne, had converted to Catholicism shortly before Edward's birth, so Edward was baptised and brought up as a Roman Catholic.
Elgar was an early riser, and would often turn to reading Voltaire, Drayton, historical classics, Longfellow and other works encouraged by his mother. By the age of eight, he was taking piano and violin lessons, and would often listen to his father playing organ at St. George's church, and soon took it up also. His prime interest, however, was the violin, and his first written music was for that instrument.
Surrounded by sheet music, instruments, and music textbooks in his father's shop in Worcester's High Street, the young Elgar became self-taught in music theory. On warm summer days, he would take manuscripts into the countryside to study them (he was a passionate and adventurous early cyclist from the age of 5). Thus there began for him a strong association between music and nature. As he was later to say, "There is music in the air, music all around us, the world is full of it and you simply take as much as you require."
At the age of 15, Elgar had hoped to go to Leipzig, Germany to study music, but lacking the funds, he instead left school and began working for a local solicitor. Around this time he made his first public appearances as a violinist and organist. After a few months, he left the solicitor and embarked on a musical career, giving piano and violin lessons, and working occasionally in his father's shop. Elgar was an active member of the Worcester Glee Club, along with his father, and he accompanied singers, played violin, composed and arranged works, and even conducted for the first time. At 22 he took up the post of bandmaster at the Worcester and County Lunatic Asylum in Powick, three miles south-west of Worcester, a progressive institution which believed in the recuperative powers of music. He composed here too; some of the pieces for the asylum orchestra (music in dance forms) were rediscovered and performed locally in 1996.
In many ways, his years as a young Worcestershire violinist were his happiest. He played in the first violins at the Worcester and Birmingham Festivals, and one great experience was to play Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 6 and Stabat Mater under the composer's baton. As part of a wind quintet and for his musical friends, he arranged dozens of pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, and other masters, honing his arranging and compositional skills, and applying them to his earliest pieces. Although somewhat solitary and introspective by nature, Elgar thrived in Worcester's musical circles.
In his first trips abroad in 1880-2, Elgar visited Paris and Leipzig, attended concerts by first rate orchestras, and was exposed to Wagnerism, then the rage. Returning to his more provincial milieu increased his desire for a wider fame. He often went to London in an attempt to get his works published, but this period in his life found him frequently despondent and low on money. He wrote to a friend in April 1884, "My prospects are about as hopeless as ever...I am not wanting in energy I think, so sometimes I conclude that 'tis want of ability...I have no money--not a cent."
At 29, through his teaching, he met (Caroline) Alice Roberts, daughter of the late Major-General Sir Henry Roberts and a published author of verse and prose fiction. Eight years older than Elgar, she became his wife three years later against the wishes of her family. Her faith in him and her courage in marrying 'beneath her class' were strongly supportive to his career. She dealt with his mood swings and was a generous musical critic. Alice was also his business manager and social secretary. She did her best to gain him the attention of influential society, though with limited success. In time he would learn to accept the honours given him, realizing that they mattered more to her and her social class. She also gave up some of her personal aspirations to further his career. In her diary she later admitted, "The care of a genius is enough of a life work for any woman." As an engagement present, Elgar presented her with the short violin and piano piece Salut d'amour. With Alice's encouragement, the Elgars moved to London to be closer to the centre of British musical life, and Edward started composing in earnest. The stay was unsuccessful, however, and they were obliged to return to Great Malvern, where Edward could earn a living teaching and conducting local musical ensembles. Though disappointed at the London episode, the return to the country proved better for Elgar's health and as a base of musical inspiration, bringing him closer to nature and to his friends.
During the 1890s Elgar gradually built up a reputation as a composer, chiefly of works for the great choral festivals of the Midlands. The Black Knight and King Olaf (1896), both inspired by Longfellow, The Light of Life and Caractacus were all modestly successful and he obtained a long-standing publisher in Novello and Company. He also generously recommended the young composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to the Three Choirs Festival for a concert piece, which helped establish the younger man's career. Elgar was catching the eyes of the prominent critics, although their reviews were still lukewarm, and he was in demand as a festival composer, but he was just getting by financially and not feeling appreciated the way he wanted to be. In 1898, he continued to be "very sick at heart over music" and hoped to find a way to succeed with a larger work. His friend Jaeger tried to lift his spirits, "A day's attack of the blues...will not drive away your desire, your necessity, which is to exercise those creative faculties which a kind providence has given you. Your time of universal recognition will come."
In 1899, that prediction suddenly came true. At the age of 42, Elgar's produced his first major orchestral work, the Enigma Variations, which was premièred in London under the baton of the eminent German conductor Hans Richter. In Elgar's own words, "I have sketched a set of Variations on an original theme. The Variations have amused me because I've labelled them with the nicknames of my particular friends...that is to say I've written the variations each one to represent the mood of the 'party' (the person)... and have written what I think they would have written--if they were asses enough to compose". Elgar dedicated the work "To my friends pictured within".
The large-scale work was received with general acclaim, heralded for its originality, charm, and fine craftsmanship, and it established Elgar as the pre-eminent British composer of his generation. It is formally titled Variations on an Original Theme; the word "Enigma" appears over the first six measures of music, which led to the familiar version of the title. The enigma is that, although there are fourteen variations on the "original theme", the 'enigma' theme, which Elgar said 'runs through and over the whole set' is never heard. Many later commentators have observed that although Elgar is today regarded as a characteristically English composer, his orchestral music and this work in particular share much with the Central European tradition typified at the time by the work of Richard Strauss. Indeed, the Enigma Variations were well-received in Germany, and persist to this day as a world-wide concert favourite.
The following year saw the production at the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival of his choral setting of Cardinal Newman's poem The Dream of Gerontius. Despite a disastrous first performance due to poorly-prepared performers, the German première was much better received and the work was established within a few years as one of Elgar's greatest. It is now regarded as one of the finest examples of English choral music from any era.
Elgar is probably best known for the five Pomp and Circumstance Marches, composed between 1901 and 1930. Shortly after he composed the first march, Elgar set the trio melody to words by A. C. Benson as a Coronation Ode to mark the coronation of King Edward VII. The suggestion had already been made (allegedly by the future King himself) that words should be fitted to the broad tune which formed the trio section of this march. Against the advice of his friends, Elgar suggested that Benson furnish further words to allow him to include it in the new work. The result was Land of Hope and Glory, which formed the finale of the ode and was also issued (with slightly different words) as a separate song. The work was immensely popular and became a second national anthem. At last, he had made the leap from accomplished back-country musician to England's foremost composer. It also gained Elgar the highest recognition he could have dreamed of--honorary degrees, a knighthood, special royal audiences, and a triumphal three-day festival of his music at Covent Garden attended by the King and Queen.
Between 1902 and 1914 Elgar enjoyed phenomenal success, made four visits to the USA including one conducting tour, and earned considerable fees from the performance of his music. Between 1905 and 1908 Elgar held the post of Professor of Music at the University of Birmingham. His lectures there caused controversy owing to remarks he made about other English composers and English music in general; he was quoted as saying "English music is white - it evades everything". The University of Birmingham's Special Collections contain an archive of letters written by Elgar. His new life as a celebrity was a mixed blessing as it often provoked ill-health from his high-strung nature and interrupted his privacy. He complained to Jaeger in 1903, "My life is one continual giving up of little things which I love."
Elgar's Symphony No. 1 (1908) was given one hundred performances in its first year, the violin concerto (1910) was commissioned by the world-renowned violinist Fritz Kreisler, and in 1911, the year of the completion of his Symphony No. 2, he had the Order of Merit bestowed upon him. In 1912, he moved back to London, again to be closer to musical society but to the detriment of his love of the countryside and to his general mood.
Elgar's musical legacy is primarily orchestral and choral, but he did write for soloists and smaller instrumental groups. His one work for brass band, The Severn Suite (later arranged by the composer for orchestra), remains an important part of the brass band repertoire. This work was dedicated to his friend George Bernard Shaw. It is occasionally performed in its arrangement by Sir Ivor Atkins for organ as the composer's second Organ Sonata; Elgar's first, much earlier (1895) Organ Sonata was written specifically for the instrument in a highly orchestral style, and remains a cornerstone of the English Romantic organ repertoire.
During World War I his music began to fall out of fashion. The war was overturning his world and his time. He himself grew to hate his 'Pomp and Circumstance' March No.1 with its popular 'Land of Hope and Glory' tune, which he felt had been made into a jingoistic song, not in keeping with the tragic loss of life in the war. This was captured in the film Elgar by Ken Russell. After the death of his wife in 1920, loneliness and declining interest in his art fostered little in the way of new works of importance. Shortly before her death he composed the elegiac Cello Concerto, often described as his last masterpiece.
Elgar lived in the village of Kempsey from 1923 to 1927, during which time he was made Master of the King's Musick.
He was the first composer to make extensive recordings of his own compositions. HMV (His Master's Voice) recorded much of his music acoustically from 1914 onwards and then began a series of electrical recordings in 1926 that continued until 1933, including his "Enigma Variations," "Falstaff," the first and second symphonies, his cello and violin concertos, all of the "Pomp and Circumstance" marches, and other orchestral works. Part of a 1927 rehearsal of the second symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra was also recorded and later issued.
Elgar's recordings of his violin concerto and the Enigma Variations have been reissued on CD by EMIIn November 1931, Elgar was filmed by Pathe for a newsreel depicting a recording session of Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 at the opening of the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. It is believed to be the only surviving sound film of Elgar, who makes a brief remark before conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, asking the musicians to "play this like you've never played it before." Silent films of the composer have also survived.[citation needed]
In the 1932 recording of the violin concerto, the ageing composer worked with the American violinist Yehudi Menuhin, who was then only 16 years old; they worked well together and Menuhin warmly recalled his association with the composer years later, when he performed the concerto with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Menuhin later conducted an award-winning recording of Elgar's Cello Concerto with the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and much of the major orchestral music.
Elgar's recordings usually featured such orchestras as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra (which reverted in 1928 to its earlier name, New Symphony Orchestra) and, in 1933, the newly-founded London Philharmonic Orchestra. Elgar's recordings were released on 78-rpm discs by both HMV and RCA Victor. In later years, EMI reissued the recordings on LP and CD.
In his later years, Elgar befriended young conductors such as Adrian Boult and Malcolm Sargent who championed his music when it was out of fashion.
At the end of his life Elgar began work on an opera, The Spanish Lady, and accepted a commission from the BBC to compose a Third Symphony. His final illness prevented their completion.
He died on 23 February 1934 and is buried at St. Wulstan's Church in Little Malvern. Within four months, two more great English composers - Gustav Holst and Frederick Delius - were also dead.
Works
Orchestral:
Froissart, Overture for orchestra, Op.19 (1890)
Serenade for string orchestra, Op.20 (revised version of Three Pieces for string orchestra, 1888-92)
Sursum corda for brass, organ and strings, Op.11 (1894)
Three Bavarian Dances for orchestra, Op.27 (1897)
Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma) for orchestra, Op.36 (1899)
Sea Pictures, Song cycle for contralto and orchestra, Op.37 (1897-99)
Chanson de Matin and Chanson de Nuit, for small orchestra (arrangement of the salon pieces for violin and piano), Op.15 (1899)
Cockaigne (In London Town), Overture for orchestra, Op.40 (1900-01)
Pomp and Circumstance, Marches No.1 and 2 for orchestra, Op.39 (1901)
Funeral March from Grania and Diarmid for orchestra, Op.42 (1902, from the incidental music to the play by W.B. Yeats)
Dream Children, Two pieces for chamber orchestra, Op.43 (1902)
In the South (Alassio), Concert Overture for orchestra, Op.50 (1903-04)
Pomp and Circumstance, March No.3 for orchestra (1904)
Introduction and Allegro for string quartet and string orchestra, Op.47 (1904-05)
Pomp and Circumstance, March No.4 for orchestra (1907)
The Wand of Youth, Suite No. 1 for orchestra, Op.1a (1867-71, rev. 1907)
The Wand of Youth, Suite No. 2 for orchestra, Op.1b (1867-71, rev. 1908)
Symphony No.1 in A flat for orchestra, Op.55 (1907-08)
Elegy for string orchestra, Op.58 (1909)
Romance for bassoon and orchestra, Op.62 (1909)
Concerto for violin and orchestra in B minor, Op.61 (1909-10)
Symphony No.2 in E flat for orchestra, Op.63 (1909-11)
Coronation March for orchestra, Op.65 (1911)
The Crown of India, Suite for orchestra, Op.66 (1911-12)
Falstaff, Symphonic Study for orchestra, Op.68 (1913)
Sospiri for string orchestra and harp, Op.70 (1914)
Polonia, Symphonic Prelude for orchestra, Op.76 (1915)
The Starlight Express, Suite for vocal soloists and orchestra, Op.78 (from the incidental music to the play by Algernon Blackwood, 1915-16)
The Sanguine Fan for orchestra, Op.81 (1917)
Concerto for cello and orchestra in E minor, Op.85 (1918-19)
Empire March for orchestra (1924)
Suite from Arthur for chamber orchestra (from the incidental music to Laurence Binyon's Arthur, 1924)
Minuet from Beau Brummel for orchestra (1928-29)
Pomp and Circumstance, March No.5 for orchestra (1930)
Nursery Suite for orchestra (1931)
Severn Suite, Op. 87, for brass band (1930) or orchestra (1932)
Mina for chamber orchestra (1933)
Symphony No 3 for orchestra, Op.88 (sketches, 1932-34, elaborated by Anthony Payne 1972-97)
Piano Concerto, Op.90 (sketches, 1909-25, elaborated by Robert Walker)
Pomp and Circumstance, March No.6 for orchestra
Cantatas and oratorios:
The Black Knight, Symphony/Cantata for chorus and orchestra, Op.25 (1889-92)
From the Bavarian Highlands for chorus and orchestra, Op.27 (1895-96)
The Light of Life (Lux Christi), Oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.29 (1896)
Scenes From The Saga Of King Olaf, Cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op. 30 (1896)
The Banner of St George, Ballad for chorus and orchestra, Op.33 (1897)
Te Deum & Benedictus for chorus and orchestra, Op.34 (1897)
Caractacus, Cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.35 (1897-98)
The Dream of Gerontius, Oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.38 (1899-1900)
Coronation Ode for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.44 (1901-02, rev. 1911)
The Apostles, Oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.49 (1902-03)
The Kingdom, Oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.51 (1901-06)
The Crown of India, Imperial Masque for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.66 (1911-12)
The Music Makers, Ode for soloists, chorus and orchestra, Op.69 (1912)
The Spirit of England for soprano/tenor, chorus and orchestra, Op.80 (1915-17)
The Smoking Cantata for baritone soloist and orchestra. Written in 1919, this piece was probably never intended to be performed and was given the absurd opus number of 1001. Its duration is less than a minute.
Songs:
"Is she not passing fair?" Text by Charles, Duke of Orleans; translated by Louis Stuart Costello. (1908) From Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection
Chamber music:
Salut d'Amour (Liebesgruss) for violin and piano, Op.12 (1888)
Sonata for violin and piano, Op.82 (1918)
String Quartet in E minor, Op.83 (1918)
Piano Quintet in A minor, Op.84 (1918-19)
Soliloquy for solo oboe (1930)
Solo piano:
Concert Allegro (1901)
Skizze (1903)
In Smyrna (1905)
Adieu (pub. 1932)
Organ
Sonata in G Major, Op. 28
"Second Organ Sonata", Op. 87a (an arrangement by Ivor Atkins of the Severn Suite)
Enigma Variations: Nimrod
Sir Edward Elgar Lyrics
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The Snow O snow, which sinks so light, Brown earth is hid from…
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@gunterangel
@@vernonstirling4180
Glad to find you here again, Sir Vernon Stirling, and that you're still with us.
I've just read your moving comment from five years ago, which has the most likes in the comment section and where you had told about your wish of 'Nimrod' being played for your farewell music one day.
Wish you all the best and still many good days to come.
My favorite piece of Elgar's besides his 'Enigma-Variations' is his beautiful oratory,
'The Dream of Gerontius' !
The source for its lyrics is an extented poem by John Henry Newman and it describes the journey of the departed soul of a man named Gerontius into heaven.
The name 'Gerontius' refers to the Greek word 'geras', meaning an old man.
I hope, you like that one as well.
It speaks especially to older people.
@gramule
In Hebrew and Christian tradition, Nimrod is considered the leader of those who built the Tower of Babel in the land of Shinar,[5] though the Bible never actually states this. Nimrod's kingdom included the cities of Babel, Erech, Accad, and perhaps Calneh, in Shinar (Ge 10:10).[6] Flavius Josephus believed that it was likely under his direction that the building of Babel and its tower began; in addition to Josephus, this is also the view found in the Talmud (Chullin 89a, Pesahim 94b, Erubin 53a, Avodah Zarah 53b), and later midrash such as Genesis Rabba. Several of these early Judaic sources also assert that the king Amraphel, who wars with Abraham later in Genesis, is none other than Nimrod himself.
Since Accad (Babylonian Akkad) was destroyed and lost with the destruction of its Empire in the period 2200–2154 BCE (long chronology), the stories mentioning Nimrod seem to recall the late Early Bronze Age. The association with Erech (Babylonian Uruk), a city that lost its prime importance around 2,000 BCE as a result of struggles between Isin, Larsa and Elam, also attests the early provenance of the stories of Nimrod. According to some modern-day theorists, their placement in the Bible suggests a Babylonian origin—possibly inserted during the Babylonian captivity.[7]
Judaic interpreters as early as Philo and Yochanan ben Zakai (1st century AD) interpreted "a mighty hunter before the Lord" (Heb. : לפני יהוה, lit. "in the face of the Lord") as signifying "in opposition to the Lord"; a similar interpretation is found in Pseudo-Philo, as well as later in Symmachus. Some rabbinic commentators have also connected the name Nimrod with a Hebrew word meaning 'rebel'. In Pseudo-Philo (dated ca. AD 70), Nimrod is made leader of the Hamites, while Joktan as leader of the Semites, and Fenech as leader of the Japhethites, are also associated with the building of the Tower.[8] Versions of this story are again picked up in later works such as Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius (7th century AD).
The Book of Jubilees mentions the name of "Nebrod" (the Greek form of Nimrod) only as being the father of Azurad, the wife of Eber and mother of Peleg (8:7). This account would thus make him an ancestor of Abraham, and hence of all Hebrews.
think on this, if you can
@gunterangel
I'm German and as a lover of classical music I first discovered Elgar's 'Enigma Variations', which 'Nimrod' is the most famous and popular part of, when in 1988 German film director Bernhard Sinkel had made ( to great effect) use of the elegic main theme of the 'Enigma Variations' as titles and end titles music for his much-praised mini-series ( about the famous American writer) 'Hemingway', starring Stacy Keach as Hemingway, which was awarded with several Emmys.
The main theme alone had moved me so much, that I immediately went and purchased a CD of the entire 'Enigma-Variations' with the Royal Philharmonic.
From that on I was hooked on Elgar.
I'm from the Saarland, the smallest federal state of Germany, and my love and appreciation of British composers like Edward Elgar, Hubert Parry, Arthur Sullivan, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughn Williams, William Walton, Benjamin Britten, Frederik Delius, Michael Tippett, Henry Purcell, William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons was further increased, when in 1995 the 'Musikfestspiele Saar', a regular music festival in my home region, had chosen 'British music' as its subject !
One could hear famous works of nearly all the great British composers in dozens of concerts about several weeks.
To this day it remains the biggest representation of British music ever performed on the European continent.
Even Sir Michael Tippett, one of the last great British composers of the 20th. century and nearly 90 years old at the time, came to Saarbrücken to conduct one of his symphonies in person ! That was really a great honour for our town. He died three years later.
I still remember having heard Vaughn-Willams' magnificent 'Sea-Symphony' in concert.
An unforgettable event in my life as music lover !
And of course, for the first time live in concert, Elgar's grandiose 'Enigma-Variations' !
No other than HM King Charles III., then still the Prince of Wales, had taken over the patronage of the festival. It was even rumoured, that he would come to personally start the festival, but security and schedule considerations obviously hindered that.
But at least we had the British consul, who had read a greeting adress of ( then ) Prince Charles to the audience at the opening concert.
Great memories !
@gunterangel
@@janicelivett8892
Thanks a lot for your nice reply !
Sadly it seems classical music from Great Britain is still somehow neglected in the concert repertoire on the continent and still doesn't get the recognition it deserves imho.
Many continental Europeans still are just ignorant of the rich musical tradition of the British islands and the remarkable contribution the British made to the musical repertoire since about five centuries and especially since the Tudor time.
Maybe it is the nimbus of Great-Britain as a nation of great discoverers, navigators and scientists, that somehow overshadowed their great contributions in the field of arts and music for the continental Europeans, so that musicwise Great Britain is still a sort of "terra incognita" for many concert goers.
But thanks to the internet slowly but surely things are changing in that regard and more and more you can find a symphony from Vaughn-Williams or Elgar in classical concerts.
For me the most interesting part of British music history, apart from the late romantic era, is certainly the era from the Tudors and later the 17th. century with names like William Byrd, who bears his nickname "The English Palestrina" for good reasons, and the later Orlando Gibbons and Henry Purcell, who both came like Bach from families of musicians and had fathers, uncles, brothers and sons, who were also composers.
This time was surely the first Golden Age of British music and imho Great Britain in that time was THE CENTER of the musical avangarde in the whole of Europe.Their music still sounds remarkably modern in the ears of todays listerners compared to continental composers of the same time period.
What I also particularly like about the British music culture is their marvelous and great choir tradition, that goes also back to the Tudor times. I remember hearing an English boy choir in a church concert during our music festival nearly thirty years ago ( please forgive me, that I remember no more, from which town they were ) and they were simply marvelous, their technique, perfect pitch and purity of tone were outstanding; and you will find only very few boys choirs in Germany of such high quality standards, maybe the Thomaner in Leipzig or the 'Domspatzen' in Regensburg. But there is never that sheer number of high-quality-boy-choirs in Germany like in Great-Britain, I guess.
Many years ago I listened to an interview with Glenn Gould, where he was asked about his favorite composers ( apart from his lifelong supreme idol Bach of course ) and to my amazement he mentioned Orlando Gibbons as his second favorite besides Bach !
Well, if that is not a good reason to look into Gibbons' music, when such a recommendation comes from the mouth of a genius like Glenn Gould!
As said classical music is so much more than "Viennese Classicism", "German Romanticism" and "French Impressionism" or the "National Schools" of Chopin, Mussorgsky, Tschaikovsky or Grieg etc.
And British music had certainly its fair share of it.
And btw. many of the famous Viennese composers had good and friendly connections to Great Britain.
Mozart had a pupil from England, Thomas Attwood, and he was also good friend with the British singer, Nancy Storace, who had sung the Suzanne at the premiere of "La Nozze di Figaro", and her husband, Stephen (1762-1796), who would become the first composer of operas in English language in the Italian style in England, but tragically had died equally as young as Mozart.
Both had invited Mozart to travel with them through Great Britain, when they'd return there in 1787, but Mozart had to deny it, because he was not able to leave Vienna at that time for various personal reasons.
But only four years later Haydn would make his first and very successful visit to the UK and stayed there for nearly two years, an enterprise he would repeat two years later with even more success, when he wrote his last symphonies for this second journey, and later he'd praise the British to his pupil Beethoven for their great generosity and love for good music, telling him he'd have earned more money during that short three years in the UK than during all his more than thirty years in the service of the Duke of Ésterhazy.
Haydn instillted this same admiration for Great Britain in the young Beethoven, who would also held a lifelong admiration for the British for their constitutional monarchy and advanced civil liberties compared to the very opressive situation in the Habsburgian monarchy especially during the Metternich era.
He was also repeatedly invited by friends in Great Britain to come over there, but his bad health and increasing deafness made such wide travels sadly impossible for him.
He even composed his famous final symphony, the Ninth, as a work of commission by the London Philharmonic Society !
So, without the British maybe there wouldn't have been a "Ninth" ever....!
And the youngest of Bach's sons, Johann Christian Friedrich Bach, in the footsteps of Händel, had even emigrated to London and made his career there, where he'd also befriended the very young wunderkind Mozart on the occasion of the first visit of the Mozart family in London.
And of course Mendelssohn had made successful travels to Great Britain as well !
Kind regards from Germany !
@AllPileup
In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead, short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
- Lt. Col. John McCrae
@alancrabb
60 years ago this was played at a school memorial service for a school chum who died of leukaemia - aged about 16 I guess. He continued attending school and taking exams, knowing his days were numbered. His name was Ken Gillespie, of Sutton, Surrey, UK. A brave young man, not forgotten.
@brothert7893
Thank you for sharing the knowledge of Ken with us all.
@davehoggan3907
😢🎉😮😢🎉😅 bl n
V. 🎉
@Rafael-xt1nm
Anyone who can face death in such a brave manner is a special human being. Gone, but not forgotten Ken Gillespie.
@dominicmurphy5919
Any one dieing is able to take it better than related person my brother brother was
@dreamer2260
What a beautiful comment. Thank you for sharing.
@ianpemberton565
I can still see my dad listening to Nimrod sitting in his favourite armchair , head back, eyes closed. He passed away in 1981, I'm 78 now and the pain is still there. It's so diffiuclut to forget his last few hours. This recording brings it all back...I love it despite the tears it brings..
@user-nf2zb9zo4l
Oh my goodness, oh my goodness yes
@paul-ks3jt
Beautiful 😢🙏
@clare6249
This was played at my father's funeral. His leaving the church anthem. He was my biggest supporter. He died from an op that shouldn't have been carried out. I'm so proud of him, he worked hard, loved all 5 of his kids, I'm the youngest. Also visually impaired from birth. He took me all over to complete my Masters degree research in his retirement. He adored mum despite her bipolar disorder. Although it has been terrible pain to lose him... What a man. Dad knows best. All love to our fathers. Xx