Edward Elgar

Although best known for his Pomp and Circumstance marches, including the famous hymn "Land of Hope and Glory", and his Enigma Variations, Edward Elgar was the great English composer of the early 20th century. Born in Broadheath (Worcestershire) on June 2, 1857, he grew up not far from Worcester in an environment conducive to musical practice, with a father who was a church organist, piano tuner and owner of an instrument and sheet music store. While he learned the violin and piano and played in local orchestras, he received no formal instruction, drawing on books to deepen his knowledge of music theory, composition and orchestration. At the age of fifteen, he abandoned his studies to work as a clerk in a law firm, but eventually returned to music and taught violin, before finding a position as conductor at Powick Asylum, where he officiated from 1879 to 1884. Between 1880 and 1882, he traveled to Paris, where he heard Saint-Saëns play the organ at the Madeleine church, and then to Leipzig, where his friend Helen Weaver was studying, to attend concerts. They became engaged, but the relationship did not end in marriage, which affected the young composer. Back in England, he joins William Stockley's orchestra in Birmingham, which plays his Moorish Serenade. In 1884, he performed Dvořák's Symphony no. 6 under the composer's direction, alongside his work as organist at Worcester church, replacing his father for four years. He wrote liturgical choral music, including Ecce sacerdos magnus for the bishop's visit (1888). In 1889, Elgar married his pupil Caroline Alice Roberts, daughter of the Major-General of the Indian Army, who became his private secretary and agent. Coming from a modest background, lacking in self-confidence and feeling uncomfortable in society, not least because of his Catholic faith, Elgar thus benefited from great support in promoting his music, all the more so as their union met with little approval from his wife's family. On their engagement, he dedicated his Salut d'amour for violin and piano to her. The couple settled in London and welcomed the birth of their daughter Carice in 1890, but attempts to have his works performed failed, the only proposal coming from Worcester for the Froissart Overture. The couple returned to their native region and settled in Great Malvern, where Elgar composed several pieces for the Midlands Festival throughout the decade, in addition to more personal works such as the Serenade for Strings (1892) and the Three Bavarian Dances (1897). In 1899, at the age of 42, the hitherto politely applauded composer saw the light at the end of the tunnel with the Enigma Variations. The symphonic piece, based on a theme and fourteen variations that portray his entourage and himself at the end, was premiered at St. James's Hall in London on June 19 by conductor Hans Richter. Their name derives from a hidden motif, a musical cryptogram running through the entire work, which quickly became a success throughout Europe. His ninth variation, "Nimrod", dedicated to his best friend August Jaeger, became a separate piece, played at funerals and on Remembrance Day. The same year saw the birth of the Sea Pictures melody cycle, performed by Clara Butt at the Norwich Festival. On the strength of his new-found fame, Elgar was commissioned to write an oratorio for the Birmingham Festival, and composed The Dream of Gerontius (1900), inspired by a poem by Cardinal John Henry Newman, which revived the English choral tradition and met with the same enthusiasm abroad, despite offending members of the Anglican Church. In addition to the Cockaigne overture in 1901, Elgar set to work on his most important work, the first two Pomp and Circumstance marches, followed by three more in 1904, 1907 and 1930, with a sixth remaining unfinished at his death. The first contains the theme of Clara Butt's famous patriotic song "Land of Hope and Glory", recorded in 1902 as an unofficial anthem and played every year on the closing night of the London Proms. The march was originally commissioned by King Edward VII for a Coronation Ode, whose premiere at the Royal Opera House was postponed to the Sheffield Festival on October 2, 1902, before a London premiere on October 26 at Covent Garden. In 1904, the same hall hosted a festival dedicated to Elgar, the first of its kind in England, featuring the oratorio The Apostles and the overture In the South (Alassio), written during a stay in Italy. On July 5, 1904, Elgar was knighted at Buckingham Palace, before the couple settled in Hereford until 1911. At the height of his popularity, the composer visited the United States four times, including once on a conducting tour. He held the chair of Professor of Music at Birmingham University (1905-1908), but had to withdraw after a controversy over English music, which he considered "banal". He composed Introduction and Allegro for Strings (1905), the oratorio The Kingdom (1906) and revised his early work The Wand of Youth (1907-1908). At the end of 1908, his First Symphony was well received in Manchester, then on the European continent and in North America. The Violin Concerto commissioned by the virtuoso Fritz Kreisler proved a triumph in 1910, but his Symphony No. 2 was less well received in 1911. Awarded the Order of Merit by the new King George V, Elgar returned to the capital and moved his family to a large estate in Hampstead. There, he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra and composed the choral work The Music Makers (1912) and the symphonic study Falstaff (1913). When the First World War broke out, he enlisted in the reserve army and composed a patriotic Carillon, as well as the prelude Polonia. Other works followed, such as the incidental music The Starlight Express (1915), the ballet The Sanguine Fan (1917) and chamber music with the Violin Sonata (1918), the Piano Quintet (1919) and the String Quartet (1919). His last major work, the Cello Concerto, which he conducted himself, was a failure due to the lack of rehearsals for its premiere at Queen's Hall on October 27, 1919, with Felix Salmond as soloist. The score went on to become a staple of the instrument's repertoire. After the death of his wife from lung cancer on April 7, 1920, Edward Elgar turned his attention from music to other pursuits such as chemistry, soccer and horse racing. He made a final trip to South America in 1923, then retired to the village of Kempsey until 1927. He composed the melody cycle Pageant of Empire for the British Empire Exposition of 1924, and was named Master of the King's Musick. He also recorded a number of works with various orchestras for His Master's Voice label, including the Violin Concerto with the young Yehudi Menuhin in 1932 and a recent piece, Nursery Suite. His Symphony No. 3 remained unfinished, as did the opera The Spanish Lady and other compositions at the time of his death from intestinal cancer on February 23, 1934, at the age of 76.

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