This third Elgar album from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, brings together three masterpieces: “In the South”, a colorful depiction of the Southern Italian coast, the “Serenade for String Orchestra”, and also the “Variations on an original theme”, known as the Enigma Variations.
Elgar’s breakthrough masterpiece was conceived in 1898 during a moment of idleness. He had come home exhausted from a day of violin teaching and was absent-mindedly extemporising at the piano when his wife, Alice, called out: ‘Edward, that’s a good tune.’ What Elgar’s fingers had stumbled upon were in fact hints or fragments of a melody, each starting after the first beat of the bar – ideal for variation treatment. Now contemplating that theme, Elgar began to imagine how certain friends of his might play it or make it their own.
This amazing event led to music that always has a huge emotional impact for me. I recall the music being performed at Carnegie Hall by the Chicago Symphony as a memorial to conductor Georg Solti…
Here is the Enigma Variations by Elgar:
