The history and music of world-renowned British composer Edward Elgar (born in Broadheath near Worcester in1857 and died in Worcester in 1934) present some barriers for the American public.  In the US, despite our present political polarization, we don't have an established religion, nor a class system with titles.

Elgar was born into a family that could barely be considered middle class in a society where class was everything.  His father was an itinerant piano tuner and organist who later opened a sheet-music shop (thus at least reaching the “shop-keepers class”) with his brother, the brother doing the actual work and providing the capital.  His mother was a former barmaid!  

However, she also was a tremendously intellectually ambitious person who taught herself to read and was a voracious reader of anything that could be obtained cheaply, including the poet Longfellow whose works weren't covered by copyright in England.  While Elgar learned music from his father and a local violinist, he, like his mother with reading, was self-taught when it came to musical composition.  He just absorbed every and any score he could possibly get with an emphasis on the works of Bach, Handel and Mendelssohn as well as those of the Classical era.  

His father was the organist at St. George Roman Catholic Church in Worcester, and, to the great dismay of the family, his mother became a Catholic convert upon attending the services there.  Her children followed her to this religion.  This was not the simple issue that it would seem in the modern-day United States where changing church affiliations would be as unobjectionable as changing wardrobes or hair color.  The Protestant Anglican Church was dominant in all areas of status and culture in England, and there were suspicions harbored toward Catholics (and vice versa).  

There was no such thing as universal schooling for the working class, but Elgar's mother made sure that he attended local Catholic and private schools--the funding for these surely taxed the resources of the family.

Elgar was skilled at keyboard improvisations, and, after acting as his assistant, supplanted his father as organist at St. George in 1885.   He also supplemented his income by teaching the violin and the piano. But Elgar had great ambitions to be a composer.  

In 1889, he married one of his piano students, Caroline Alice Roberts, eight years his senior, who had significant standing in society as the daughter of a knighted major general.  She converted to Catholicism prior to the marriage.  As can be imagined, there was extreme family and cultural friction (she was essentially disowned), but the marriage, which produced one child, was a sustaining relationship for the high-strung composer. Alice Elgar provided emotional support, comfort, and unrelenting faith in his genius.  

Elgar loved puzzles and games.  When in he created his Variations on an Original Theme (1899) he proposed several associated mysteries hence the nickname, “Enigma Variations.”  The most enduring of these enigmas relates to the theme itself.  Beginning with only strings, it is distinctively syncopated with its phrases starting off the beat with two short notes followed by two longer and the notes reversing each other at each successive measure over six measures -- almost like pronouncing “Edward Elgar, Elgar Edward, Edward Elgar, Elgar Edward, Edward Elgar, Elgar Edward.”  Then there are four measures of rising wind and string phrases, before the strings intone six further measures of “Edward Elgar, Elgar Edward…”

The theme contains an enigma. Elgar stated, “…through and over the whole set [of variations] another and larger theme ‘goes’ but is not played…so the principal theme never appears.”  There have been many guesses regarding this “principal theme” that were dismissed by Elgar including “God Save the King,” “Auld Lang Syne,” Pop goes the Weasel,” and “Home Sweet Home.”  Because “Rule Britania” contains the phrase “never, never, never” there is speculation that Elgar was being crafty in saying the theme “never appears.”  With Elgar, presently unable to confirm or deny candidates, we may have to rely on Divine communication – or ChatGPT to solve this enigma.

In addition, Elgar headed each variation of the set merely with initials or a nickname referring to people or situations, ingeniously characterized by the composer in the variation.  These enigmas are solved.

Variation I “CAE” is an affectionate tribute to the composer’s beloved wife.  Var. II “H.D.S-P” represents the earnest piano exercises of a friend who took up the piano later in life, H. D. Steuart-Powell.  Var. III “R.B.T.” somewhat mocks, with high and low wind tessitura, the voice of actor Richard Baxter Townsend who, while having a natural tenor voice, attempted to portray a deep-voiced character. This is repeated.  Var. IV “W.M.B.” expresses the vitality of William Meath Baker. Var. V “R.P.A.” reflects the changeable personality from seriousness to gaiety of Richard Penrose Arnold son of the poet Matthew Arnold. Var. VI “Ysobel” gives a solo to the principal viola, the instrument that Isobel Fitton was taught by Elgar.  Var VII “Troyte” is very energetic with exciting timpani reflecting Arthur Troyte Grifith.  Var VIII “W.N.” denotes the charm of Winifred Norbury. 

Variation IX is the famous “Nimrod.”  Nimrod was the hunter in the Bible and refers to A.J. Jaeger Elgar’s publisher.  (Jaeger means “hunter” in German.) Similar to Alice Elgar, Jaeger believed in Elgar’s genius and vigorously berated the composer when he despairingly spoke of quitting composing.  Nimrod is often played as a memorial piece, and this music was chosen by Daniel Barenboim for the Chicago Symphony to memorialize the late Sir George Solti.

Var. X “Dorabella” represents Dora Penny a young friend of Elgar who inspired him to take up cycling. The BBC includes the culturally important fact that she accompanied him to his first Wolverhampton Wanderers match in 1896.  Of perhaps more significance, she subsequently formed a string orchestra which she conducted. Var. XI “GRS” depicts not George R. Sinclair but his bulldog falling into a river and scrambling out downstream at an embankment. Var. XII “BGN” is a tribute to cellist Basil G. Nevinson.  XIII “***” was found to be regarding Lady Mary Ligdon who was thought to be on a ship at the time hence the quote from Mendelssohn’s Overture Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage where Elgar put quotation marks over two clarinet solo phrases—no enigma there.  The final Variation XIV “EDU” refers to Elgar, himself.  The original version of this variation was relatively brief but after the successful premiere in July 1899 under conductor Hans Richter, both the conductor and subsequently Jaeger urged Elgar to add a more significant coda.  He resisted, but not for long.  The revised score, with the coda reprising elements of Nimrod and CAE as well as having an optional organ part, was premiered with Elgar conducting just a few months later in September 1899.

Program Note by IPO Board Member 
Charles Amenta, M.D.