WorldView Episode 15: Edward Elgar’s 165th Birthday

Episode fifteen of WorldView is the first to feature only one artist and composition: Edward Elgar’s Symphony No. 3 (with a run time of fifty-five minutes). Though the British composer is best known for his Pomp and Circumstance Marches, this symphony remains a popular work. 

Edward Elgar was born near Worcester, England, on June 2nd, 1857. His mother had converted to Roman Catholicism a few months before he was born, and Elgar was raised Catholic in a staunchly Protestant country. By his eighth birthday, Elgar was performing violin and piano pieces for prominent members of his community; two years later, he began writing scores for what eventually became The Wand of Youth (1907). The composer was largely self-taught, receiving only a handful of violin lessons during his childhood.  

During the 1870s, Elgar abandoned his dreams of being a soloist to focus on composition, and he soon began to write longer symphonies and other works. Around this time, he also met Caroline Alice Roberts (one of his Protestant pupils) and they were married in 1889. As she had married a Roman Catholic, Roberts was disinherited by her family and soon became Elgar’s full-time business manager, secretary, and music critic. Elgar later realized just how much she has sacrificed for his career, and began accepting more awards and accolades—knowing that they meant more to her than they did to him. The composer rose to prominence in England and internationally in the last decade of the 19th century, publishing well-known works such as Enigma Variations and Pomp and Circumstance Marches.  He was knighted by King Edward VII in 1904, and was later appointed ‘Master of the King’s Music’. Elgar passed away in February, 1934, near his home town; the composer’s 165th birthday was celebrated on June 2nd, 2022. 

This episode of WorldView features Elgar’s 3rd Symphony, performed by Paul Daniel and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Elgar began the work in 1934, only a few months before his death. He left behind more than one hundred pages of notes and sketches detailing the composition, and the work was completed in 1997 by British composer Anthony Payne. When it was originally published, the work carried the name “Edward Elgar: the Sketches for Symphony No. 3 elaborated by Anthony Payne”.  The work is divided into four musical movements: Allegro molto maestoso, scherzo allegretto, adagio, and allegro. 

WorldView Episode Fifteen Playlist:

Edward ELGAR, “Symphony No. 3”, {Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Paul Daniel} - Naxos

WorldView is a classical music radio show featuring composers from everywhere in the world - except Western Europe. Tune in to hear works by lesser-known artists such as Gabriela Montero  and Bright Sheng, and widen your knowledge of classical music. Hinke Younger hosts each week’s episode of WorldView on Mondays at 9AM and again at 6PM on Charlottesvilleclassical.org.