Biography
Sir Edward William Elgar (1857 - 1934) was a distinguished English composer, with his music reviving significantly in the 1960s, with many new recordings of his works. Elgar was born in Lower Broadheath, outside Worcester, England, on June 2, 1857, the fourth of seven children. His father was an organist of the Catholic Church of St. George from 1846 to 1885 while his mother had embraced Roman Catholicism, despite her husband's strong displeasure. All of their children were brought up in music, and from the age of eight Edward took piano and violin lessons. He started composing at an early age and without formal education, reading every book he could find on music theory.
He finished school in 1872 and found an office job while making his first appearance as a violinist and organist. He soon resigned from his job to pursue a career in music, teaching piano and violin. He became an active member of the Worcester Glee Club with his father, accompanying singers, playing the violin, composing and arranging works. On his first trips abroad, Elgar visited Paris in 1880 and Leipzig in 1882. He attended concerts by the greatest orchestras of the time. In 1882 he wrote: "I got a pretty good dose from Schumann, Brahms, Rubinstein and Wagner, so I have no reason to protest." When Elgar was 29, he took on a new student, Alice Roberts, a writer eight years his senior, whom he married three years later. In addition to being a source of inspiration, Alice was a keen critic of his music and acted as his manager and secretary.
His compositions were not well received until 1899, when his Enigma Variations became immediately popular in Britain and abroad. This was followed by the choral work "The Dream of the Elder" in 1900, which is based on a Roman Catholic text and provoked Anglican British morals, but became - and remains - a work of basic repertoire in Britain and elsewhere. Elgar's most famous works were written betweeen 1899-1920, with most of them being orchestral. He also composed chamber music and many songs, he is the composer of the famous melody Land of Hope and Glory. He was appointed King Musician in 1924. The death of his wife in 1920 was a major blow, he died of bowel cancer on February 23, 1934.