![]() As for the friends given a cameo by England’s great composer, the idea of an Enigma only added to the curiosity about the subjects of Elgar’s musical portraits. This added layer of mystery about his music didn’t do Elgar any favours! The critics at the London premiere were irritated and mystified by Elgar’s rather unhelpful answers to their questions, and his insistence on remaining secretive. ![]() But when asked directly for the meaning of the ‘Enigma’ the word itself written on the opening page of his manuscript, Elgar was far more elusive! His quote is often repeated: ‘The enigma I will not explain - its ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the apparent connection between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme ‘goes,’ but is not played - so the principal Theme never appears…’ For the first mystery – the identity of each of the friends ‘pictured within’ - there are plenty of clues, not least in the initials Elgar attaches to most of the Variations. In fact, as the title suggests, the mystery can both found in both elements of his Variations and Theme. It was his intention all along to set a musical puzzle, a mystery, which would keep everyone guessing. ![]() Such was the mood in the Elgar house that day, but when Alice heard the tunes her husband crafted on the piano, she liked them and encouraged him by declaring that in his variations, Elgar was doing ‘something which had never been done before’.įor his part, the composer was not content to simply match melodies to names, and described his new work as ‘commenced in a spirit of humour and continued in deep seriousness’. He’d complained that he was ‘sick of music’ which earned him so little for his efforts he had received just 15 shillings for his cantata Caractacus. He was making money from long hours of teaching, editing and writing for his publisher, and although he was receiving commissions, Elgar became quickly depressed when his work was criticised or ill-received. He had turned 40 and - despite his long apprenticeship, hopes and aspirations - the idea of making a decent living from his compositions seemed unlikely if not unattainable. When he was doodling at the piano that fateful evening in 1898, the success of his little improvisations must have seemed merely a dream to the composer. Elgar goes on to explain that each characterisation is meant to represent the mood of the person themselves, with Elgar’s assertion that ‘I have written what I think they would have written – if they were asses enough to compose – it’s a quaint idea and the result is amusing to those behind the scenes…’ In fact, Elgar’s most popular orchestral composition has amused his fans and classical music lovers for more than a century since the hugely successful premiere under the baton of the German conductor Hans Richter on 19 June 1899.
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