Comparison Of William Elgar's Life And Work

Sir Edward William Elgar was born on June 2, 1857 in Lower Broadheath, located outside of Worcester, England. One of his close friends W. H. "Billy" Reed wrote that Elgar's childhood and early adult life "permeated all his work and gave to his whole life that subtle but none the less true and sturdy English quality". He began writing music early on in his life; for example, at age ten, he wrote a play that was later performed by the Elgar children.
His father, William Henry Elgar, was a skilled musician who played violin and organ at St. George’s Roman Catholic Church. Consequently, the young Edward Elgar was exposed to sufficient musical instruction from an early age. In fact, by the age of eight, Elgar was already enrolled in piano and violin
Reed wrote, "Elgar's genius rose to its greatest height in his orchestral works”, and saying that even in his plays and operas, the orchestral parts still shone through. Despite being introverted and solitary in nature, Elgar flourished by playing at the Worcester and Birmingham Festivals and he soon began composing for them as well. For the Birmingham Festivals, he wrote pieces such as “The Black Knight”, “King Olaf”, and “Three Bavarian Dances”. However, Elgar’s first brilliant triumph showed though his writing of “The Enigma Variations” in 1899. The Enigma Variations, first conducted by the celebrated Hans Richter, drew huge audiences in London. The work enabled Elgar to achieve extensive reputation and fame. It was not long before the works were premiered all over Europe, and Elgar was acknowledged as a leading composer. In 1900, Elgar wrote yet another masterpiece, “The Dream of Gerontius”. Based on a poem by John Newman, it did away with traditional choruses, utilizing instead a constant musical texture as in the works Wagner. By 1902, his work had traveled beyond Europe to reach the musical halls of New York. Elgar then composed the “Pomp and Circumstance Marches”, which debuted in 1901 at a London Promenade Concert. The piece became so popular that it was regarded an unofficial national anthem in Britain, and it would be played as the main theme for high school graduations across the
His whose works in the orchestral realm were categorized by bold melodies, colorful harmonies and cadences, and proficiency of large forms. Despite being hailed as a brilliant composer in modern times, Elgar’s reputation has varied in the decades since his music came to fame in the early 20th century. Richard Strauss applauded Elgar as a progressive composer, Hans Richter regarded Elgar as “the greatest modern composer”, and Arthur Nikisch thought the First Symphony was "a masterpiece of the first order" to be "justly ranked with the great symphonic models – Beethoven and Brahms." There were also many critics to his works. For example, W. J. Turner, in the mid-twentieth century, wrote of Elgar's "Salvation Army symphonies," and Herbert von Karajan called the Enigma Variations "second-hand