Brief synopsis' of the most popular
classical music
compositions by
Sir Edward Elgar...
Born in Broadheath, England 2 JUN 1857 ~ Died in Worcester, 23 FEB 1934
Many orchestral pieces, 1 unfinished opera, oratorios and
vocal music, and chamber pieces.
Elgar: Cello Concerto
The cello concerto in e minor was Sir Edward Elgar's last major work. It
was FP at Queen's hall in 1919, but it was under-rehearsed and had to
surmount the handicap of initial disfavor.
Elgar: Cockaigne
(In London
Town) Concert Overture Op 40
(1857 - 1934)
Composed in 1901 this is an audio picture postcard of London at the time
of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, with bands wandering through
the streets with a sense of pagentry and history.
Elgar Crown of India
Suite
Includes 'Warrior's Dance' and 'March of the Mogul Emporers'...with a kind
of Eastern Asian feel to it.
Elgar: Enigma Variations
Op 36, Variations on an Original Theme. Op 36. FP June 1899 under Hans
Richter in London. The
enigmas in the variations are based on initials or nicknames of Elgar's
close friends, to whom the works are dedicated. The main theme for these
cameos is heard in the prelude composed in 1898.
Elgar Evening Song A miniature.
Written in the late 1890's for violin and piano this is the 'Chanson de
Nuit'. In his younger years Elgar enjoyed chemestry and experimented in his home laboratory.
He enjoyed kite-flying and golf. In his later years after the death of his wife Alice, Elgar
enjoyed the companionship of his pet dogs. He also enjoyed attending the derby (DAR by)
and the races.
Elgar Falstaff Study in c, Op 68 (1913) A study of the mature
Shakespearian obese, boasting and cowardly knight character in Henry the
Fourth.
Started in Spring 1913. FP October 1, 1913 at the Leeds
Triennial Festival Concert with Elgar conducting. The audience was bemused
but the orchestra members appeared to enjoy the work.
Elgar Froisart (FRAW' sart)
Elgar: Pomp & Circumstance Marches
Elgar planned six of these marches, only five were published. The first
was written in Liverpool in 1901, the last in London in 1930.
Elgar Salute d'amour
'Salute to Love'
Known not only by his serious compositions, but his miniatures, which
achieved wide popularity at the turn of the 19th century in England.
Elgar Serenade for Strings Op 20 (1892)
Elgar was 35 years old when he wrote this work and still somewhat
unknown in his part of rural England. He was a law clerk and for the most
part was a self taught composer. He gave violin lessons and played the church organ.
His wife Alice encouraged him to stick with composition and it was many years
later that he achieved major recognition.
With later revisions it's taken from three earlier pieces, of 1888,
orginally
rejected by his publisher for being "unsaleable". In e-minor.
Elgar Sospiri
Op 70, written in 1914 for strings, harp and organ. It means 'sighs' in
Italian. The original was 'Sighs of Love' and was a miniature salon piece.
It turned out to be an intensive work reflecting the intensity of the
times around WWI.
Elgar was a private man by nature and when success came late in his life he was
surprised to learn he was a national hero. He was inspired by his national acceptance
and composed many marches to echo the pagentry of the British empire.
Elgar: Symphony No. 1
Edward Elgar was not an original composer. His works remind us of the
styles and the manerisms of other composers-- sometimes Brahms, sometimes
Wagner. Elgar derived his ideas, styles and mannerisms from the composers
of the past. His was the 'voice' of the Edwardian Age. His music has the
nostalgic quality of belonging to the past. At his best, Elgar was a
composer of charm and taste. His music has dignity, beauty and sometimes
that English nobility as in his Symphony No 1 in A-flat, Op 55.
It was composed over a 9 year period ending in 1908 when he was 51
years old. The FP was by the Halle Orch on Dec 3, 1908.
Elgar 'Variations On An Orginal Theme' See Enigma Variations.
Elgar: Violin Concerto
Composed in 1910...it is the principal English violin concerto.
It was dedicated to Fritz Kreisler, it's first performer.
Elgar conducted the first recording of the work with violinist
Yehudi Menuhin who was 15 years old.
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