Sir Edward Elgar ENIGMA VARIATIONS Opus 36 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ,Andrew Litton 

Sir Edward Elgar ENIGMA VARIATIONS Opus 36 Royal Philharmonic Conductor:Andrew Litton
Sir Edward Elgar
Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra ("Enigma"), Op. 36
1 Theme (Andante)
2 Variation I (L'istesso tempo) "C.A.E."
3 Variation II (Allegro) "H.D.S.-P."
4 Variation III (Allegretto) "R.B.T."
5 Variation IV (Allegro di molto) "W.M.B."
6 Variation V (Moderato) "R.P.A."
7 Variation VI (Andantino) "Ysobel"
8 Variation VII (Presto) "Troyte"
9 Variation VIII (Allegretto) "W.N."
10 Variation IX (Adagio) "Nimrod"
11 Variation X (Intermezzo: Allegretto) "Dorabella"
12 Variation XI (Allegro di molto) "G.R.S."
13 Variation XII (Andante) "B.G.N."
14 Variation XIII (Romanza: Moderato) "* * *"
15 Variation XIV (Finale: Allegro Presto) "E.D.U."
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Andrew Litton
Photography: 16-02-2014 Angel Tejo.
-I dedicated a Carolina,the composer Wife
- II. H.D.S.-P. -- Hew Stuart-Powell, a pianist with whom Elgar played chamber music.
- III. R.B.T. -- Richard Townsend, whose vocal pitch would rise when excited.
- IV. W.M.B. -- William Baker, who after barking out plans for the day would leave the room with a vigorous door-slam
- V. R.P.A. -- Richard Arnold, son of the writer Matthew Arnold, who would punctuate serious discourse with a nervous laugh.
- VI. Isobel Fitton, a violist.
- VII. Troyte -- Arthur Griffith, an architect and raucous pianist.
- VIII. W.N. -- Winifred Norbury, a gracious and gentle friend.
- IX. Nimrod -- Augustus Jaeger, Elgar's close friend. The most beautiful and famous of the variations, this music describes a nighttime walk when Jaeger gave verbal encouragement to composer, recalling Beethoven's determination in adversity. "Jaeger" means "hunter in German, and Nimrod was a biblical hunter.
- X. Dorabella -- Dora Penny, whose infectious laugh is depicted in the woodwinds.
- XI. G.R.S. -- George Sinclair, an organist depicted frolicking with his bulldog, Dan.
- XII. B.G.N. -- Basil Nevinson, a cellist.
- XIII. *** -- The identity of this person is not known, but she is thought to have been on an ocean voyage at the time -- this divined from a quote from Mendelssohn's "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage."
- XIV. E.D.U. -- Elgar himself. "Edu" was Caroline's nickname for her husband. This heartily extroverted, even boisterous, finale ties together the first variation and the Nimrod themes, as though to suggest that the composer has taken advice to heart and is determined to succeed.