June 2007 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Edward Elgar. Here, to mark the occasion, is a collection of new essays by a distinguished group of contributors. They deal with Elgar the Man and Composer, as well as with issues connected to Elgar's lasting legacy and to the performance of his music. Elgar was a man of many contradictions. He was born an outsider, into a family of lower-middle class, Catholic, origins. Yet his fame, and ability to write music that struck a chord in the national consciousness, led him to adopt a sycophantic attitude towards the Royal Family and high society, even though he always felt ill at ease with them. Elgar was a depressive with a problematic marriage, who craved recognition, but in many ways he regretted the piece of music which made him famous. 'Pomp and Circumstance' made him the leading English composer of his age, but also contributed to the jingoism which he so disliked during the First World War. Yet, unquestionably, he was the greatest musical genius that England had produced in centuries. This "Anniversary Portrait", by some of the scholars and musicians that understand him best, offers interesting new light on a wide range of aspects of Edward Elgar's life and work. Richard Strauss' famous toast to Elgar in 1902 - to the welfare and success of the first English progressivist - looks startling today. Is not Elgar the last embodiment of a fading Empire, a composer of late romantic music that even for its period was behind the times? That cliched view has become ever more inadequate over a period when Elgar's music has increasingly been performed and acknowledged internationally.
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"One of the most enjoyable aspects of Elgar: An Anniversary Portrait is its eclectic compilation of perspectives on Elgar, a composer whose complexity grows with each successive publication... the interaction of histories, musicologists, biographers, and artists ensures that the book will be greatly appreciated by Elgarians, and different constituencies of readers will undoubtedly find much of value in different essays. The personal essays and reminiscences while delightful and engaging are limited as a scholarly resource; however, several of the contributions will appeal to Elgar scholars. The relative brevity of most of the essays marks them as suggestive inducements to further inquiry, but ultimately Elgar: An Anniversary Portrait successfully meets the goals implied by its title." - Dan Kline, Victorian Studies, Summer 2008--,
About the Author
Nicholas Kenyon is Director of the Proms. He was formerly head of Radio 3, music critic for the Observer and the New Yorker.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By Thomas Neal
Format:Hardcover
This wonderful book was published to coincide with Elgar's anniversary in 2007. It consists of a variety of essays and articles by leading musicians on specific topics, e.g. Stephen Hough writes about Elgar's faith, Yehudi Menuhin writes about the Violin Concerto. There are also contributions from Janet Baker, Jaqueline Dupre, and Mark Elder, amongst others. As might be seen from this list of distinguished Elgar-lovers, this book is essential reading for any serious Elgar fan, British composers, and the aspiring musicologist. Although I would imagine anyone with an interest in Elgar would enjoy some of the more biographical chapters (of which there are only a few), I think the book is aimed primarily for the musically educated and those with a serious interest in approaching the subject from an analytical point of view, as I was - from this point of view, the book is superb and is unique in providing such wonderful insight into the composer and his music from such a distinguished group of musicians. I bought this book because I wanted to discover the great man's music in more detail, and, as a musician and aspiring music historian, I found this book an invaluable source and introduction to the composer's world - essential reading for the British musicologist.
By H. J. Ward
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very interesting book with good information. Will make a super Christmas present for my brother who loves listening to Elgar's works.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting set of essays on a great composer
25 Aug 2007
By Reader
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book contains several rewarding essays on Sir Edward Elgar that help provide a fuller picture of the composer of several well-known pieces (the Pomp & Circumstance March #1 being in the super-well-known category). Each reader is likely to find a different set of essays to be most interesting; mine are those by Diana McVeagh, Stephen Hough and Mark Elder. One problem is that the authors are not identified. Some, such as Hough, Janet Baker and Yehudi Menuhin are well-known, but the others are known mostly to persons already well familiar with the composer, and some will be new to most readers. Many chapters have notes, but the one by Hans Keller does not despite his quoting three sources.
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