Fuck Yeah Classical

ihatemusic1943:

Edward Elgar: Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra (a.k.a. Enigma Variations) (1898–1899)

(Source: topofobia)

musicophilia:

String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83; II. Piacevole (poco andante)

Edward Elgar

Medici String Quartet

Elgar was himself an accomplished violinist, having played in various chamber ensembles in his youth and, according to Billy Reed, “his ambition was to become a famous violinist”. In this he did not succeed, subsequently earning his living as player and teacher until he could become a full-time composer. The quartet combines the skills thus acquired from those days with a high level of compositional inspiration. But this supreme choral and orchestral composer was not naturally a chamber music composer, and it has been argued that only the piacevole (peaceful) movement of his string quartet has the natural flow of chamber music, whilst the other movements strive for a broader orchestral effect. That, of course, is up to each listener to decide.

…

The slow movement, piacevole, was begun in October, when the end of the war was in sight. It was finished on 26 November, after the Armistice. As in the first movement, two motifs dominate the song-like andante, with a gently moving triple metre. The long sequential cantabile theme occurs, in full, three times, separated by subsidiary episodes which are consistent with the principal theme, and derived from it, using chromatic development. (more here)