Edward Elgar
English composer of orchestral and choral works.
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. He is best known for orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies, as well as choral works such as The Dream of Gerontius. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924.
Despite his reputation as a quintessentially English composer, Elgar’s musical influences were drawn largely from continental Europe rather than his native land. He felt like an outsider in multiple respects: he was a self-taught composer in an academic musical world, a Roman Catholic in a predominantly Protestant Britain, and acutely conscious of his humble social origins even after achieving fame. He married the daughter of a senior British Army officer, who inspired him both musically and socially. Success eluded him until his forties, when the Enigma Variations (1899) brought immediate popularity in Britain and abroad. The Dream of Gerontius (1900), a choral work based on a Roman Catholic text, initially caused unease in Anglican circles but eventually became a core repertory piece. His later religious choral works, though well received, did not achieve the same lasting prominence.
In his fifties, Elgar composed a highly successful symphony and violin concerto. However, his second symphony and cello concerto were not immediately popular, taking decades to secure a regular place in British orchestral repertory. In his later years, his music was seen as appealing mainly to British audiences, and his reputation declined for a generation after his death. A revival began in the 1960s, aided by new recordings, and some works have since regained international attention, though his music remains more frequently performed in Britain.
Elgar was a pioneer in taking the gramophone seriously. Between 1914 and 1925, he conducted acoustic recordings of his works. After the moving-coil microphone’s introduction in 1923 enabled more accurate sound reproduction, he made new recordings of most of his major orchestral works and excerpts from The Dream of Gerontius.
Born in Lower Broadheath, near Worcester, on 2 June 1857, Elgar was the fourth of seven children. His father, a piano tuner and shopkeeper, was a professional violinist
- born
- 2 June 1857, Lower Broadheath, near Worcester, England
- died
- 23 February 1934
- field
- Composer
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Enigma Variations, Pomp and Circumstance Marches, violin and cello concertos, two symphonies, The Dream of Gerontius
Lore & Background
Edward Elgar was born in the small village of Lower Broadheath, near Worcester, England, on 2 June 1857. His father, William Henry Elgar, was a piano tuner and shopkeeper; his mother, Ann Greening, had converted to Roman Catholicism shortly before Edward's birth, and he was raised as a Roman Catholic. Elgar received a general education until age fifteen and his only formal musical training beyond local lessons was brief violin studies with Adolf Pollitzer in London in 1877–78. He was largely self-taught, learning from books borrowed from the cathedral music library and manuals on music theory. After leaving school in 1872, he worked briefly as a clerk in a solicitor's office before embarking on a musical career, giving lessons and working in his father's shop. He held posts as conductor of the attendants' band at the Worcester and County Lunatic Asylum from 1879 for five years, and as professor of violin at the Worcester College for the Blind Sons of Gentlemen.
Reader's Guide
Elgar struggled to achieve success until his forties, when the Enigma Variations (1899) became immediately popular in Britain and overseas. He followed with the choral work The Dream of Gerontius (1900), based on a Roman Catholic text that caused some disquiet in the Anglican establishment but became a core repertory work. In his fifties, he composed a symphony and a violin concerto that were immensely successful, though his second symphony and cello concerto took many years to achieve a regular place in the concert repertory. Elgar's music came to be seen as appealing chiefly to British audiences, and his stock remained low for a generation after his death, reviving significantly in the 1960s with new recordings. He has been described as the first composer to take the gramophone seriously, conducting acoustic recordings of his works between 1914 and 1925, and later making new recordings with the moving-coil microphone introduced in 1923.
Did You Know?
- Elgar was largely self-taught as a composer, learning from books borrowed from the cathedral music library.
- He held the post of conductor of the attendants' band at the Worcester and County Lunatic Asylum for five years from 1879.
- Elgar was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924.
- He made acoustic recordings of his works between 1914 and 1925, and later recorded with the moving-coil microphone introduced in 1923.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Bt. (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer.
He was Master of the King's Musick from 1924." — Edward Elgar "My idea is that 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." — Edward Elgar "In conversation in 1896, quoted in R J Buckley Sir Edward Elgar (London: Bodley Head, 1905), p. 32." — Edward Elgar "Dedication to the Enigma Variations (1899)." — Edward Elgar
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