- Paperback: 852 pages
- Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; New edition edition (19 Feb 1987)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0192840142
- ISBN-13: 978-0192840141
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.8 x 5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
851,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #43 in Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Classical Music > Composers > Elgar
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Review
"The single indispensable book on Elgar's career and music."--Choice
"A superbly entertaining and informative biography, in which the music becomes an integral part of the thread which held this most extraordinary English composer together....Elgar comes to life on these pages as never before."--Musical Opinion
"In the finest tradition of American scholarship--exact, comprehensive and bringing novel insights to Elgar's music."--The Sunday Times (London)
"Here, in 841 pages with 500 musical examples, is all you could possibly want to know about Elgar...a monumental achievement."--Michael Kennedy, Daily Telegraph
"His book is the greatest yet on any English Musician."--Punch
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
"A superbly entertaining and informative biography, in which the music becomes an integral part of the thread which held this most extraordinary English composer together....Elgar comes to life on these pages as never before."--Musical Opinion
"In the finest tradition of American scholarship--exact, comprehensive and bringing novel insights to Elgar's music."--The Sunday Times (London)
"Here, in 841 pages with 500 musical examples, is all you could possibly want to know about Elgar...a monumental achievement."--Michael Kennedy, Daily Telegraph
"His book is the greatest yet on any English Musician."--Punch
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Product Description
Drawing on a vast amount of source material, much of it previously unpublished, Moore here presents Sir Edward Elgar's life and works as inseparable parts of a single creative whole.
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First Sentence
MUSIC and biography share the expression of time remembered. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
MUSIC and biography share the expression of time remembered. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
How did a self-taught violin teacher from a provincial English town create such masterpieces as the Enigma Variations, the Cello Concerto and the Dream of Gerontius? Jerrold Northop Moore provides an answer, drawing on primary sources that range from Elgar's musical sketches and scores to letters, diaries and contemporary reviews.
Mooore describes how Elgar shaped and reshaped each of his major works, often over a period of years, and how he managed to get them played at a time when even well-connected composers like Sullivan were overshadowed by the vogue for Brahms and other Continental musicians. He also explores Elgar's complex personality. Uneasy about his middle-class origins, Elgar often played the role of a bluff, country gentleman, but his music is more like that of a British Tchaikovsky --extravagant and restless, with a powerful emotional charge.
As Elgar's story unfolds, the whole musical life of early 20th-century Europe is conjured up. Moore traces the composer's friendships with Hans Richter, Richard Strauss, Fritz Kreisler, George Bernard Shaw and August Jaeger, the editor at Novello's who recognized and nurtured Elgar's genius.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If, like me, your enjoyment of a composer is heightened by a knowledge of what motivated him and an understanding of the background to his work, then you must read this. It is quite simply one of the best biographies I have ever read. Not only is it a work of brilliant scholarship and painstaking research, but it is also written with warmth and affection.
The sections where the author analyses the music of Elgar are clear and informative (and not too complex for a non-specialist). The logic behind the analysis is clear and well-proven. Links between different works and links between events in Elgar's life and his music are also highlighted. One feels one understands the music better.
The biographical detail is extensive and thorough. On the strength of reading this book the first time I purchased many of the books quoted as sources by the author (e,g by W H Reed), so greatly had my appetite for Elgar been whetted.
When I reached the final pages it was with a sense of sadness. So vivid is the narrative that I really had the impression of having got to know the composer and his circle of friends. For an understanding and greater appreciation of all Elgar's music this is an essential companion. It is excellent both to dip into for reference and as a book to read through.
The sections where the author analyses the music of Elgar are clear and informative (and not too complex for a non-specialist). The logic behind the analysis is clear and well-proven. Links between different works and links between events in Elgar's life and his music are also highlighted. One feels one understands the music better.
The biographical detail is extensive and thorough. On the strength of reading this book the first time I purchased many of the books quoted as sources by the author (e,g by W H Reed), so greatly had my appetite for Elgar been whetted.
When I reached the final pages it was with a sense of sadness. So vivid is the narrative that I really had the impression of having got to know the composer and his circle of friends. For an understanding and greater appreciation of all Elgar's music this is an essential companion. It is excellent both to dip into for reference and as a book to read through.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Kudos to Oxford for bringing this classic back into print! Jerrold Northrop Moore worked for more than 20 years to write this definitive biography of one of Britain's greatest composers.
Using primary sources that range from Elgar's musical sketches and scores to letters, diaries and contemporary reviews, Moore shows how a self-taught violin teacher from Worcester created such masterpieces as the Enigma Variations, the Cello Concerto and the Dream of Gerontius. What's more, Elgar managed to get them performed--at a time Continental composers dominated the nation's concert halls.
Moore describes in fascinating detail how Elgar shaped and reshaped each major work, sometimes over a period of years--the Second Symphony took almost a decade to compose. He also explores Elgar's complex personality. Uneasy about his middle-class origins, he often played the role of a bluff, country gentleman, but his music is more like that of a British Tchaikovsky--extravagant and restless, with a powerful emotional charge.
As Elgar's story unfolds, the whole artistic life of late Victorian and Edwardian Britain is conjured up. Moore traces the composer's friendships with Hans Richter, Richard Strauss, Fritz Kreisler, George Bernard Shaw and Augustus Jaeger, the editor at Novello's who recognized and nurtured Elgar's genius.
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