THIS EVENT WAS CANCELLED DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC.

Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra

Rita Castro Blanco Conductor

E. Elgar - In the South (Alassio)
E. Elgar - Serenade for Strings
E. Elgar - Sea Pictures
E. Elgar - Enigma Variations

This concert devoted to the music of Elgar features music including his very first published work, the Serenade for Strings which appeared in 1892, and the new composition featured in the first all-Elgar festival held at Covent Garden in 1904, his overture – In the South, written after a visit to Alassio in Italy. It was in July 1904 that Elgar was knighted by King Edward VII.

1899 was the year that sealed Elgar’s position as the leading English composer of his day and we feature two of the three works responsible. Sea Pictures, a song cycle for contralto and orchestra, first performed by Clara Butt and made particularly memorable in the recording by Dame Janet Baker with Sir John Barbirolli, features a poem written by Elgar’s wife, Alice, In Haven (Capri). The others are Sea Slumber Song by Roden Noel, Sabbath Morning at Sea by Elizabeth Barratt Browning,  Where Corals Lie by Richard Garnett, and The Swimmer by Adam Lindsay Gordon. The Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma), or Enigma Variations, dedicated to his friends “pictured within”, was the work that finally brought Elgar his recognition both nationally and internationally, and it remains a favourite for audiences and players alike.  

Fittingly for a season which includes this work, our title for this series of concerts is taken from Sigmund Spaeth’s The Art of Enjoying Music: “Music is made of tones in time.” He became known as The Tune Detective for his work tracing popular songs to their folk and classical roots.