Elgar, Edward William

Born June 2, 1857, at Broad-heath, near Worcester; died Feb. 23, 1934, in Worcester. English composer and conductor.

Elgar, who received his formal training as a violinist, studied composition on his own. He helped found a new national school of English music. In his monumental oratorios and cantatas, which made use of the national traditions of English choral music, he sought to embody the principles of Wagnerian musical drama. In the 1880’s, Elgar was active in the social movement to revive English national musical culture; the aesthetic principles on which the movement was based are realized in his own compositions, which make use of the traditions of early and popular English music.

Elgar’s works include the oratorios The Dream of Gerontius (1900) and The Apostles (1903); the cantata Scenes From the Saga of King O/a/(1896); two symphonies (1908 and 1911); the overture Cockaigne (In London Town, 1901); program works for orchestra, notably the Enigma Variations (1899); violin concerti; and chamber music. As a symphonist, Elgar most nearly resembles J. Brahms.