skip to navigation

    Classic FM

    On Air Now

    Moira Stuart's Hall of Fame Concert 5pm - 7pm

    Moira Stuart's Hall of Fame Concert

    Now Playing

    Swan Lake - Suite Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky Download 'Swan Lake - Suite' on iTunes

    Swan Lake - Suite artwork
    • Playlist
    • Schedule
    Listen
    • Home
    • Radio
    • News
    • Discover Music
    • Composers
    • Artists
    • Win
    • Charity
    • Learning
    • Quizzes
    • Dating
    • Follow us on:
      Follow Classic FM on Twitter
      Follow Classic FM on Facebook
      Follow Classic FM on Instagram
      Follow Classic FM on Youtube

    Composers

    Elgar

    • Elgar Home
    • Music
    • News
    • Album Reviews
    • Pictures
    • Guides
    • More Composers

    Elgar: 15 facts about the great composer

    The 20th Century's best moustache? Maybe, but there's far more to Edward Elgar than that - find out exactly what with our handy gallery of facts about the great man, from the mystery of the 'Enigma' Variations to the original recording of the Cello Concerto and most things in-between.

    1. edward elgar's house birthplace

      1. Elgar is born!

      Born in Lower Broadheath near Worcester on June 2nd 1857, Edward William Elgar came into the world in a countryside idyll that went on to dominate his creativity for the rest of his life.

    2. Elgar Conducting

      2. Early work

      Elgar became something of a musical odd-jobber, regularly accompanying local groups and choirs, as well as making early forays into composing. It wasn't the most lucrative path, though, and he spent some time working at a solicitors to make ends meet.

    3. elgar signed score

      3. A man of letters

      Elgar was particularly keen on sending letters to his nearest and dearest. Whether they were dewy-eyed love letters to his wife and other muses or simply humorous asides to colleagues, his collected correspondence has been the subject of much literary and musical scholarly discussion. He once wrote to August Jaeger (whom he called 'Nimrod', hence the title of one of his 'Enigma Variations') simply: "Dreary weather - Good music - Liver pills - Calomel - Income Tax - No Biking - New Boots - Bad golf - etc etc - Fill up the life of your despised E.E."

    4. Edward Elgar

      4. An early romance

      While he was in Leipzig, Elgar visited his friend Helen Weaver, to whom he became engaged in 1883. It didn't last, though, and the engagement was called in the following year. He never divulged exactly why.

    5. Edward Elgar

      5. Knighted

      Elgar was knighted by King Edward VII in 1904, finally achieving the kind of recognition his wife Alice was so keen that he should have.

    6. Edward Elgar

      6. The Enigma Mystery

      One of Elgar's most popular works, the 'Enigma' Variations from 1899, is also his most mysterious. Each of the fourteen variations has a cryptic subtitle that relates to a particular person (or animal) in Elgar's life, including his wife, his publisher, and various friends and students.

    7. Edward Elgar

      7. The love of his life?

      Elgar met the woman that was to become his wife, Caroline Alice Roberts, in 1886. She was from good stock and very wealthy, and was to become a hugely dominant force behind Elgar's creativity. He dedicated several pieces to her, including Salut d'Amour, which he composed as an engagement present.

    8. Edward Elgar

      8. Football fan, ladies man?

      Elgar was reported to have been a bit of a ladies man - and his motives for coming to see Wolves may not have been entirely related to football. The composer also had an eye for the Rector of Wolverhampton's daughter, Dora Penney.

    9. Edward Elgar's bushy moustache!

      9. Elgar the inventor

      As well as being behind some of the most beloved English music of all time, Sir Edward Elgar was also a keen amateur chemist. He would happily spend hours in his shed tinkering away at little experiments, but the culmination was most certainly his invention of the Elgar Sulphuretted Hydrogen Apparatus, which was a device for synthesising hydrogen sulphide that briefly went into production.

    10. bulldog

      10. Dog-lover?

      The eleventh variation in the 'Enigma' Variations supposedly depicts George Sinclair's (who at the time was organist at Hereford Cathedral) bulldog, Dan, after it fell into the River Wye.

    11. £20 note

      11. £20 no longer

      Until 2010, you could've expected to see Edward Elgar's moustachioed face adorning a standard £20 in the UK, but he's since been replaced by the Scottish philosopher Adam Smith.

    12. amazon river sunset

      12. Amazon trip

      In 1923 Elgar made a little-documented trip to South America, where he embarked upon a cruise of the Amazon river. The event was fictionalised in James Hamilton-Patterson's novel 'Gerontius', which makes a rather fanciful fist of the whole episode.

    13. Elgar and Beatrice Harrison

      13. Cello Concerto

      One of the masterpieces of the modern cello repertoire, it's funny to think that Elgar's cello concerto wasn't that widely performed until a certain Jacqueline Du Pré got hold of it in 1965. The premiere recording was made by Beatrice Harrison, with Elgar himself conducting in 1920.

    14. elgar recording

      14. Recording pioneer

      Elgar was one of the first composers to fully embrace recorded music. He regularly teamed up with the bods at HMV to make premiere recordings of his works, including the 'Enigma' Variations, the Cello Concerto and Falstaff.

    15. victorian bicycle

      15. Keen cyclist

      In 1900 Elgar took delivery of a brand new Royal Sunbeam bicycle, which he nicknamed 'Mr Phoebus'. He was apparently a very keen cyclist, except when it rained on his beloved Malvern hills, at which point he would often turn back and head for home.

    Elgar News

    See more Elgar News

    Elgar's Enigma: solved?

    Young composer ‘solves’ Elgar’s Enigma – and it’s pretty convincing

    Lost Elgar masterpiece found in autograph book

    Lost Elgar masterpiece found in autograph book – and heard for the first time in 100 years

    Discover Music

    Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

    Catch up with our LIVE Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra concert

    RLPO

    Elgar Music

    See more Elgar Music

    Nimrod string quartet

    This stunning string quartet rendition of Elgar's 'Nimrod' will give you goosebumps

    Elgar Nimrod makes us cry

    A detailed explanation of why Elgar’s Nimrod makes you break down in uncontrollable tears

    Steven Isserlis Elgar asset

    Why does Elgar’s Cello Concerto make us cry? A top cellist explains

    Elgar Pictures

    See more Elgar Pictures

    Elgar Moustache

    Elgar-ifying the stars: proof that everyone looks better with a great big Edwardian mo

    Margherita Taylor at the Elgar Birthplace Museum

    Elgar Birthplace Museum: Margherita Taylor makes a visit

    HMV oxford street 1930s

    The history of HMV in pictures

    Elgar Album Reviews

    See more Elgar Album Reviews

    New releases 12th June

    New Releases: Bach with Zhu Xiao-Mei and Emmanuel Despax plays Chopin

    new releases 10th april

    New releases: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra plays Brahms and Beethoven with the London Philharmonic Orchestra

    album reviews 27th march

    New releases: John Williams & Steven Spielberg - The Ultimate Collection and Elgar & Tchaikovsky - Cello Works

    Discover Music

    Elgar Guides

    See more Elgar Guides

    Enigma Variations

    The moving story behind Elgar's Enigma Variations

    Elgar

    10 reasons why we love Elgar

    Edward Elgar's music is used in American graduation ceremonies

    Why do Americans have Elgar as their graduation music?

    Back to top

    Also on Classic FM

    • LBC News
    • handel
    • debussy
    • music theory
    • instruments
    • brahms
    • vivaldi
    • bach
    • tchaikovsky
    • chopin
    • andrea bocelli
    • beethoven
    • mozart
    • classical music tear jerkers
    • best classical music
    • Classic FM Live
    • classic fm requests
    • john suchet
    • piano world record
    • best pianists
    • harry potter music
    • classic fm app
    • saturday night at the movies
    • star wars soundtrack
    • best sopranos
    • best cellists
    • composer or pasta
    • music for studying
    • best violinists
    • sad music
    • composer birthdays
    • relaxing music

    Useful Links

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • How To Listen
    • About Classic FM
    • Company Details
    • Cookies
    • Privacy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Advertise

    Download the app

    Get it on the app store Get it on Google Play

    Follow Us

    Follow Classic FM on Twitter
    Follow Classic FM on Facebook
    Follow Classic FM on Instagram
    Follow Classic FM on Youtube
    © Global 2021
    30 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7LA
    Privacy Manager