Music

Edward Elgar

1857–1934 · English

Late Romantic

Elgar was the first English composer in two centuries to achieve international standing, and his music has become bound up with ideas of Englishness and national ceremony. Largely self-taught, he made his breakthrough with the "Enigma" Variations in 1899 and went on to write The Dream of Gerontius, two symphonies and concertos for violin and cello.

How to spot them

▸Noble, broad 'nobilmente' tunes, rich orchestration and a strain of wistful melancholy
▸Ceremonial marches — Land of Hope and Glory at the Last Night of the Proms
▸Clue patterns: Worcester and the Malvern Hills, 'Nimrod', Jacqueline du Pré, Cardinal Newman

Key works — listen

Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 ("Enigma") (1898–1899)

Fourteen musical portraits of 'friends pictured within'; Variation IX 'Nimrod' is played at Remembrance

Recording: John Barbirolli Halle Orchestra, · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Pomp and Circumstance Marches, Op. 39 (1901–1930)

The trio of March No. 1 in D became 'Land of Hope and Glory'

Recording: United States Marine Band · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 (1919)

Elegiac post-war work made famous by Jacqueline du Pré's 1965 recording

Recording: Skidmore College Orchestra (see Musopen for author information) · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38 (1900)

Oratorio setting Cardinal Newman's poem about a soul's journey after death

Salut d'Amour, Op. 12 (1888)

Salon piece written as an engagement present for his future wife, Alice Roberts

Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61 (1909–1910)

Premiered by Fritz Kreisler; bears a Spanish inscription about an 'enshrined' soul

Quick-fire facts

•He was born in Lower Broadheath, near Worcester, the son of a piano tuner and music-shop owner.
•'Nimrod' in the Enigma Variations is a portrait of his friend and publisher's editor August Jaeger.
•The words 'Land of Hope and Glory' were written by A. C. Benson for Elgar's Coronation Ode (1902).
•He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924.
•His portrait appeared on the Bank of England £20 note from 1999 to 2010.
•The Dream of Gerontius was first performed, unsuccessfully, at the Birmingham Festival in 1900.
•His unfinished Symphony No. 3 was completed by Anthony Payne and premiered in 1998.

Drill it — 9 cards

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Sources

Grove Music Online (Oxford Music Online) — Elgar, Sir Edward
Encyclopaedia Britannica — Sir Edward Elgar
Wikipedia — Edward Elgar