Sir Edward Elgar was an English composer born in Broadheath, Worcestershire to “a Worcester piano tuner and music-shopkeeper and his Roman Catholic wife” in 1857 (Kennedy). He learned the violin, piano, and organ at a young age (Kennedy). Beyond his violin lessons he had no formal training. However, he received much “praise as a child for piano improvisations” (McVeagh). After the age of 16, he left his father’s business and was freelance musician for the rest of his life (McVeagh). He took on many jobs in the following years as an organist eventually working his way to lead and conduct several groups such as the Glee Club and Worcester Philharmonic (McVeagh). He continued to play in many groups including one under Dvořák (McVeagh). In 1889
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In the postwar age he “felt ‘unwanted’” and disappointed by his financial shortcomings (Kennedy). According to Kennedy, “He had completed no major works, and the two with which he came nearest to doing so, the Severn Suite (1930) and the Nursery Suite (1931), were largely constructed from material in old sketchbooks.” He was now living in Worchester at the age of 72 which was to be his last home (McVeagh). After experiencing a retirement-like stage in his life he died February 23, 1934 (McVeagh).
Elgar was considered to be one the highest Romantic Artists. “He drew inspiration from the culture and landscape of his own country…” (McVeagh). Kennedy excellently describes Elgar’s music when he states:
“His gift for melody is at the root of all his work; his harmony is sometimes richly chromatic, at others simply and touchingly diatonic; his use of tonality is often unstable and elusive, lending an airy, fantastic tone to the music; his scoring is brilliant and colourful, with particularly impressive use of string textures; his compositional style is based on a fondness for sequences, for rising 3rds, falling 7ths, and parallel …show more content…
Elgar’s popularity had to have made an impact on countless generations of composers as well as performers. When hearing his Cello Concerto for the first time it made me fall back in love with the cello. Aside from Elgar’s success in the early twentieth century he lived a pretty normal life but he made an impact on his students and his
In the postwar age he “felt ‘unwanted’” and disappointed by his financial shortcomings (Kennedy). According to Kennedy, “He had completed no major works, and the two with which he came nearest to doing so, the Severn Suite (1930) and the Nursery Suite (1931), were largely constructed from material in old sketchbooks.” He was now living in Worchester at the age of 72 which was to be his last home (McVeagh). After experiencing a retirement-like stage in his life he died February 23, 1934 (McVeagh).
Elgar was considered to be one the highest Romantic Artists. “He drew inspiration from the culture and landscape of his own country…” (McVeagh). Kennedy excellently describes Elgar’s music when he states:
“His gift for melody is at the root of all his work; his harmony is sometimes richly chromatic, at others simply and touchingly diatonic; his use of tonality is often unstable and elusive, lending an airy, fantastic tone to the music; his scoring is brilliant and colourful, with particularly impressive use of string textures; his compositional style is based on a fondness for sequences, for rising 3rds, falling 7ths, and parallel …show more content…
Elgar’s popularity had to have made an impact on countless generations of composers as well as performers. When hearing his Cello Concerto for the first time it made me fall back in love with the cello. Aside from Elgar’s success in the early twentieth century he lived a pretty normal life but he made an impact on his students and his