ELGAR EDWARD Enigma Variations

*Kiriaki Chrysanidou

 Variations on an Original Theme Op. 36 - Enigma  Variations

 Variations  on an Original Theme for orchestra , Op. 36, commonly  referred to as the Enigma Variations, is a  set of a theme and its  fourteen variations written for orchestra by  Edward Elgar in 1898–1899.  It is Elgar's best-known large-scale  composition, for both the music  itself and the enigmas behind it. Elgar  dedicated the piece to "my  friends pictured within", each variation  being an affectionate portrayal  of one of his circle of close  acquaintances.After its 1899 London  premiere, the piece achieved  popularity and was given international  performances. The people  portrayed in the variations include his wife  Alice, Augustus J. Jaeger  and Elgar himself. It has been arranged for  various instruments. The  enigma is not the identity of the persons  portrayed, as those are  known, but rather a hidden theme that is, in  Elgar's words, "not  played". This hidden theme has been the subject of  much speculation,  and various musicians have proposed theories for what  melody it could  be, although Elgar did not say that it was a melody. The  enigma could  be something else, such as a symbol or a literary theme.  Elgar accepted  none of the solutions that were put forward in his  lifetime, and,  pleased with his little joke, took the secret with him to  the grave.  The Enigma Variations have been given over sixty recordings  since 1924.
 (wikipedia)

Theme (Andante) 0:00
Variation I (L'istesso tempo) "C.A.E." 1:26
Variation II (Allegro) "H.D.S.-P." 3:06
Variation III (Allegretto) "R.B.T." 3:51
Variation IV (Allegro di molto) "W.M.B." 5:13
Variation V (Moderato) "R.P.A." 5:42
Variation VI (Andantino) "Ysobel" 7:38
Variation VII (Presto) "Troyte" 8:54
Variation VIII (Allegretto) "W.N." 9:52
Variation IX (Adagio) "Nimrod" 11:45
Variation X (Intermezzo: Allegretto) "Dorabella" 15:11
Variation XI (Allegro di molto) "G.R.S." 17:45
Variation XII (Andante) "B.G.N." 18:46
Variation XIII (Romanza: Moderato) 21:22
Variation XIV (Finale: Allegro Presto) "E.D.U." 23:53

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_Variations

"There is poetry and fantasy  in this music but also technical  ingenuity and control; there is Elgar  the exalted symphonist but also  Elgar the miniaturist, the salon  composer, the man of the theatre.
 The variations run the gamut  from light and airy to emotionally and  spiritually profound, but even  where he pokes fun Elgar’s love for his  friends is apparent: the music  can be deeply expressive and achingly  beautiful. Among the more serious  portraits is the slow, dignified  “Nimrod” (No. 9)—the heart of the  piece; it evokes a summer evening  Elgar spent talking about  Beethoven’s slow movements with a close  friend. There is some witty  tone-painting, too—a “country squire”  hustling out of a room with a slam  of the door (No. 4), a charming  young girl with an unfortunate stammer  (No. 10) — and there are  good-natured parodies of amateur performers  (Nos. 6 and 7). Some  variations do not portray the friends themselves:  the minuet-like No. 8  depicts an eighteenth-century house, No. 11  documents Elgar’s  amusement over a friend’s bulldog, No. 13 evokes a sea  voyage.  Especially moving are Elgar’s portraits of his wife (No. 1)  and, in the  long, noble Finale, himself."   (Programme Note by  Kevin Bazzana)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5y4Hwwb8as