Editing Edward Elgar (section)

==Biography==
[[File:Elgar-birthplace.jpg|thumb|alt=a brick country cottage with a large front garden|Elgar's birthplace, The Firs, [[Broadheath, Worcestershire|Lower Broadheath]], Worcestershire]]

===Early years===
Edward Elgar was born in the small village of [[Broadheath, Worcestershire|Lower Broadheath]], near [[Worcester, England|Worcester]], England, on 2 June 1857. His father, William Henry Elgar (1821–1906), was raised in [[Dover]] and had been apprenticed to a London music publisher. In 1841 William moved to Worcester, where he worked as a [[Piano tuning|piano tuner]] and set up a shop selling sheet music and musical instruments.<ref name=dnb>{{cite encyclopedia|author-link=Michael Kennedy (music critic)|last=Kennedy|first=Michael|title=Elgar, Sir Edward William, baronet (1857–1934)|encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/32988}}</ref> In 1848 he married Ann Greening (1822–1902), daughter of a farm worker.<ref name=grove>McVeagh, Diana, [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000008709 "Elgar, Edward".] ''Grove Music Online''. Retrieved 20 April 2010 {{subscription}}. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323113507/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000008709 |date=dmy}}</ref>

Edward was the fourth of their seven children.{{refn|His siblings were Henry John ("Harry", 1848–1864), Lucy Ann ("Loo", 1852–1925), Susannah Mary ("Pollie", 1854–1925), Frederick Joseph ("Jo", 1859–1866), Francis Thomas ("Frank", 1861–1929), and Helen Agnes ("Dot", 1864–1939).<ref>Moore (1984), p. 14</ref>|group= n}} Ann Elgar had converted to Roman Catholicism shortly before Edward's birth, and he was baptised and brought up as a Roman Catholic, to the disapproval of his father.{{refn|William Elgar was evidently sceptical of ''any'' branch of the church: he wrote of "the absurd superstition and play-house mummery of the Papist; the cold and formal ceremonies of the Church of England; or the bigotry and rank hypocrisy of the Wesleyan".<ref>''Quoted'' in Moore (1984), p. 6</ref>|group= n}} William Elgar was a violinist of professional standard and held the post of organist of [[St George's Church, Worcester|St George's Roman Catholic Church, Worcester]], from 1846 to 1885. At his instigation, masses by [[Luigi Cherubini|Cherubini]] and [[Johann Nepomuk Hummel|Hummel]] were first heard at the [[Three Choirs Festival]] by the orchestra in which he played the violin.<ref name=mt00>"Edward Elgar", ''[[The Musical Times]]'', 1 October 1900, pp. 641–48</ref>

All the Elgar children received a musical upbringing. By the age of eight, Elgar was taking piano and violin lessons, and his father, who tuned the pianos at many grand houses in Worcestershire, would sometimes take him along, giving him the chance to display his skill to important local figures.<ref name=dnb/>
[[File:William-and-Ann-Elgar.jpg|thumb|left|alt=images of an elderly man in Victorian costume, seen in right profile, and of an elderly woman also in Victorian clothing, smiling towards the camera|Elgar's parents, William and Ann Elgar]]
Elgar's mother was interested in the arts and encouraged his musical development.<ref name=grove/> He inherited from her a discerning taste for literature and a passionate love of the countryside.<ref>Moore (1984), p. 11 and Kennedy (ODNB)</ref> His friend and biographer [[William Henry Reed|W. H. "Billy" Reed]] wrote that Elgar's early surroundings had an influence that "permeated all his work and gave to his whole life that subtle but none the less true and sturdy English quality".<ref>Reed, p. 1</ref>{{refn|Elgar himself later said, "There is music in the air, music all around us, the world is full of it and you simply take as much as you require",<ref>In conversation in 1896, ''quoted'' by Buckley, p. 32</ref> and "The trees are singing my music – or have I sung theirs?"<ref>Beck, Frank, [http://www.elgar.org/3gerontt.htm "Elgar – His Music: ''The Dream of Gerontius'' – A Musical Analysis"], The Elgar Society. Retrieved 6 June 2010.</ref>|group= n}} He began composing at an early age; for a play written and acted by the Elgar children when he was about ten, he wrote music that forty years later he rearranged with only minor changes and orchestrated as the suites titled ''[[The Wand of Youth]]''.<ref name=grove/>

Until he was fifteen, Elgar received a general education at Littleton (now Lyttleton){{refn|1=It is spelt "Littleton" by all the Elgar authorities cited; however, some current sources, for example [http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1389994&resourceID=5 English Heritage], spell it "Lyttleton".|group= n}} House school, near Worcester. His only formal musical training beyond piano and violin lessons from local teachers consisted of more advanced violin studies with [[Adolf Pollitzer]], during brief visits to London in 1877–78. Elgar said, "my first music was learnt in the [[Worcester Cathedral|Cathedral]]&nbsp;... from books borrowed from the music library, when I was eight, nine or ten."<ref name=ODNBquote>''Quoted'' by Kennedy (ODNB)</ref> He worked through manuals of instruction on organ playing and read every book he could find on the theory of music.<ref name=mt00/> He later said that he had been most helped by [[Hubert Parry]]'s articles in the ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]''.<ref>Reed, p. 11</ref>

Elgar began to learn German, in the hope of going to the [[University of Music and Theatre Leipzig|Leipzig Conservatory]] for further musical studies, but his father could not afford to send him. Years later, a profile in ''[[The Musical Times]]'' considered that his failure to get to Leipzig was fortunate for Elgar's musical development: "Thus the budding composer escaped the dogmatism of the schools."<ref name=mt00/> However, it was a disappointment to Elgar that on leaving school in 1872 he went not to Leipzig but to the office of a local solicitor as a clerk. He did not find an office career congenial, and for fulfilment he turned not only to music but to literature, becoming a voracious reader.{{refn|A profile in ''The Musical Times'' reported that Elgar "read a great deal at this formulative period of his life.&nbsp;... In this way he made the acquaintance of [[Philip Sidney|Sir Philip Sidney]]'s ''[[Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia|Arcadia]]'', [[Richard Baker (chronicler)|Richard Baker]]'s ''Chronicles'', [[Michael Drayton]]'s ''[[Poly-Olbion|Polyolbion]]''", and the works of [[Voltaire]]."<ref>"Edward Elgar", ''The Musical Times'', 1 October 1900, pp. 641–48; and "Elgar, the man," ''[[The Observer]]'', 25 February 1934, p. 19</ref>|group= n}} Around this time, he made his first public appearances as a violinist and organist.<ref>Moore (1984), pp. 57, 67</ref>

After a few months, Elgar left the solicitor to embark on a musical career, giving piano and violin lessons and working occasionally in his father's shop.<ref name=dnb/> He was an active member of the Worcester [[Glee club]], along with his father, and he accompanied singers, played the violin, composed and arranged works, and conducted for the first time. Pollitzer believed that, as a violinist, Elgar had the potential to be one of the leading soloists in the country,<ref>"Edward Elgar", ''[[The Guardian]]'', 24 February 1934, p. 16</ref> but Elgar himself, having heard leading virtuosi at London concerts, felt his own violin playing lacked a full enough tone, and he abandoned his ambitions to be a soloist.<ref name=dnb/> At twenty-two he took up the post of conductor of the attendants' band at the [[Powick Hospital|Worcester and County Lunatic Asylum]] in [[Powick]], {{convert|3|mi|km|abbr=out|spell=on|sigfig=1}} from Worcester.<ref name=mt00/> The band consisted of: piccolo, flute, clarinet, two cornets, euphonium, three or four first and a similar number of second violins, occasional viola, cello, double bass and piano.<ref>Young (1973), p. 47</ref> Elgar coached the players and wrote and arranged their music, including [[quadrille]]s and polkas, for the unusual combination of instruments. ''The Musical Times'' wrote, "This practical experience proved to be of the greatest value to the young musician.&nbsp;... He acquired a practical knowledge of the capabilities of these different instruments.&nbsp;... He thereby got to know intimately the tone colour, the ins and outs of these and many other instruments."<ref name=mt00/> He held the post for five years, from 1879, travelling to Powick once a week.<ref name=dnb/> Another post he held in his early days was professor of the violin at the [[New College Worcester|Worcester College for the Blind Sons of Gentlemen]].<ref name=mt00/>

Although rather solitary and introspective by nature, Elgar thrived in Worcester's musical circles.<ref name=grove/> He played in the violins at the Worcester and [[Birmingham Triennial Music Festival|Birmingham]] Festivals, and one great experience was to play [[Antonín Dvořák|Dvořák]]'s [[Symphony No. 6 (Dvořák)|Symphony No. 6]] and ''[[Stabat Mater (Dvořák)|Stabat Mater]]'' under the composer's baton.<ref name=maine>Maine, Basil, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/olddnb/32988 "Elgar, Sir Edward William"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626095210/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/olddnb/32988 |date=26 June 2013 }}, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' archive, Oxford University Press, 1949. Retrieved 20 April 2010 {{subscription}}.</ref> Elgar regularly played the bassoon in a wind quintet, alongside his brother Frank, an oboist (and conductor who ran his own wind band).<ref name=mt00/> Elgar arranged numerous pieces by [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]], and others for the quintet, honing his arranging and compositional skills.<ref name=mt00/>

[[File:schumann-brahms-rubinstein-wagner.jpg|thumb|left|alt=composite image of four head and shoulders images of nineteenth century men. Two are clean shaven, one has a full beard and one has side-whiskers.|[[Robert Schumann|Schumann]] and [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]], ''top'', [[Anton Rubinstein|Rubinstein]] and [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]], ''bottom'', whose music inspired Elgar in [[Leipzig]]]]
In his first trips abroad, Elgar visited Paris in 1880 and Leipzig in 1882. He heard [[Camille Saint-Saëns|Saint-Saëns]] play the organ at the [[Église de la Madeleine|Madeleine]] and attended concerts by first-rate orchestras. In 1882 he wrote, "I got pretty well dosed with [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]] (my ideal!), [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]], [[Anton Rubinstein|Rubinstein]] & [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]], so had no cause to complain."<ref name=ODNBquote/> In Leipzig he visited a friend, Helen Weaver, who was a student at the Conservatoire. They became engaged in the summer of 1883, but for unknown reasons the engagement was broken off the next year.<ref name=dnb/> Elgar was greatly distressed, and some of his later cryptic dedications of romantic music may have alluded to Helen and his feelings for her.{{refn|Kennedy (ODNB) mentions the 'Romanza' variation (no.&nbsp;13) in the ''Enigma Variations'' and the Violin Concerto as possible examples, the former being headed "****" and the latter being inscribed as enshrining an unnamed soul.|group= n}} Throughout his life, Elgar was often inspired by close women friends; Helen Weaver was succeeded by [[Lady Mary Trefusis|Mary Lygon]], [[Dorabella Cipher#Background|Dora Penny]], Julia Worthington, Alice Stuart Wortley and finally Vera Hockman, who enlivened his old age.<ref>Moore (1984), pp. 96, 264, 348, 512, 574, and 811</ref>

In 1882, seeking more professional orchestral experience, Elgar was employed as a violinist in [[Birmingham]] in [[William Stockley's Orchestra]],<ref>Moore (1984), pp. 95–96</ref> for whom he played every concert for the next seven years<ref>Young (1995), p. 87</ref> and where he later said he "learned all the music I know".<ref>Moore (1984), p. 325</ref> On 13 December 1883 he took part with Stockley in a performance at [[Birmingham Town Hall]] of one of his first works for full orchestra, the ''Sérénade mauresque'' – the first time one of his compositions had been performed by a professional orchestra.<ref>Reed, pp. 17−18</ref> Stockley had invited him to conduct the piece but later recalled "he declined, and, further, insisted upon playing in his place in the orchestra. The consequence was that he had to appear, fiddle in hand, to acknowledge the genuine and hearty applause of the audience."<ref>''Quoted'' in "Edward Elgar", ''[[The Musical Times]]'', 1 October 1900, pp. 641–48</ref> Elgar often went to London in an attempt to get his works published, but this period in his life found him frequently despondent and low on money. He wrote to a friend in April 1884, "My prospects are about as hopeless as ever&nbsp;... I am not wanting in energy I think, so sometimes I conclude that 'tis want of ability.&nbsp;... I have no money&nbsp;– not a cent."<ref>Kennedy (1987a), p. 15</ref>

===Marriage===
[[File:Elgar-Alice-c1891.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Nineteenth century photograph of a man in his 30s and a middle-aged woman standing side by side. He has a large moustache, and is looking at the woman; she is looking straight at the camera.|Edward and Alice Elgar, c.&nbsp;1891]]
When Elgar was 29, he took on a new pupil, [[Caroline Alice Elgar|Caroline Alice Roberts]], known as Alice, daughter of the late [[Major-General (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] Sir Henry Roberts, and published author of verse and prose fiction. Eight years older than Elgar, Alice became his wife three years later. Elgar's biographer [[Michael Kennedy (music critic)|Michael Kennedy]] writes, "Alice's family was horrified by her intention to marry an unknown musician who worked in a shop and was a [[Roman Catholic]]. She was disinherited."<ref name=dnb/> They were married on 8 May 1889, at [[Brompton Oratory]].<ref name=maine/> From then until her death, she acted as his business manager and social secretary, dealt with his mood swings, and was a perceptive musical critic.<ref>"Some of Elgar's Friends", ''The Musical Times'', April 1934, p. 319</ref><ref>Moore (1984), p. 587</ref> She did her best to gain him the attention of influential society, though with limited success.<ref>Moore (1984), p. 134</ref> In time, he would learn to accept the honours given him, realising that they mattered more to her and her social class and recognising what she had given up to further his career.{{refn|When Elgar was knighted in 1904, his daughter Carice said, "I am so glad for Mother's sake that Father has been knighted. You see – it puts her back where she was".<ref>Moore (1984), p. 440</ref>|group= n}} In her diary, she wrote, "The care of a genius is enough of a life work for any woman."<ref>Kennedy (1987a), p. 147</ref> As an engagement present, Elgar dedicated his short violin-and-piano piece ''[[Salut d'Amour]]'' to her.{{refn|''Salut d'Amour'' became one of Elgar's best-selling works, but initially he earned no royalties, having sold the copyright to the publisher Schott for a flat fee of 2 guineas; Schott later decided to pay him royalties.<ref name=dnb/><ref name=grove/>|group= n}} With Alice's encouragement, the Elgars moved to London to be closer to the centre of British musical life, and Elgar started devoting his time to composition. Their only child, Carice Irene, was born at their home in [[West Kensington]] on 14 August 1890. Her name, revealed in Elgar's dedication of ''Salut d'Amour'', was a contraction of her mother's names Caroline and Alice.<ref>Reed, p. 33</ref>

Elgar took full advantage of the opportunity to hear unfamiliar music. In the days before miniature scores and recordings were available, it was not easy for young composers to get to know new music.<ref>Anderson, Robert, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1002931 "Elgar's Musical Style"], ''The Musical Times'', December 1993, pp. 689–90 and 692. Retrieved 23 October 2010 {{subscription}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060558/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1002931 |date=19 March 2021 }}</ref> Elgar took every chance to do so at the [[Crystal Palace Concerts]]. He and Alice attended day after day, hearing music by a wide range of composers. Among these were masters of [[orchestration]] from whom he learned much, such as [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]] and Richard Wagner.<ref name=grove/> His own compositions made little impact on London's musical scene. [[August Manns]] conducted Elgar's orchestral version of ''Salut d'amour'' and the Suite in D at the Crystal Palace, and two publishers accepted some of Elgar's violin pieces, organ [[voluntary (music)|voluntaries]], and [[part song]]s.<ref name=reed23>Reed, p. 23</ref> Some tantalising opportunities seemed to be within reach but vanished unexpectedly.<ref name=reed23/> For example, an offer from the [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden, to run through some of his works was withdrawn at the last second when [[Arthur Sullivan|Sir Arthur Sullivan]] arrived unannounced to rehearse some of his own music. Sullivan was horrified when Elgar later told him what had happened.{{refn|Sullivan said to Elgar, "But, my dear boy, I hadn't the slightest idea of it – why on earth didn't you come and tell me? I'd have rehearsed it myself for you".<ref>Reed, p. 24</ref>|group= n}} Elgar's only important commission while in London came from his home city: the Worcester Festival Committee invited him to compose a short orchestral work for the 1890 Three Choirs Festival.<ref>Reed, p. 25</ref> The result is described by [[Diana McVeagh]] in the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', as "his first major work, the assured and uninhibited ''[[Froissart Overture (Elgar)|Froissart]]''." Elgar conducted the first performance in Worcester in September 1890.<ref name=grove/> For lack of other work, he was obliged to leave London in 1891 and return with his wife and child to Worcestershire, where he could earn a living conducting local musical ensembles and teaching. They settled in Alice's former home town, [[Great Malvern]].<ref name=grove/>

===Growing reputation===
{{listen|type=music
|filename=Serenade for Strings -mvt-1- Elgar.ogg
|title=Serenade for Strings (Op. 20, mv 1)
|description=Elgar's [[Serenade for Strings (Elgar)|Serenade for Strings]], movement 1, performed by the [[United States Army Band]] Strings ensemble
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During the 1890s, Elgar gradually built up a reputation as a composer, chiefly of works for the great choral festivals of the [[English Midlands]]. ''[[The Black Knight (Elgar)|The Black Knight]]'' (1892) and ''[[Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf|King Olaf]]'' (1896), both inspired by [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow|Longfellow]], ''The Light of Life'' (1896) and ''Caractacus'' (1898) were all modestly successful, and he obtained a long-standing publisher in [[Novello and Co]].<ref name=mtobit>''The Musical Times'', obituary of Elgar, April 1934, pp. 314–18</ref> Other works of this decade included the ''[[Serenade for Strings (Elgar)|Serenade for Strings]]'' (1892) and ''[[Three Bavarian Dances]]'' (1897). Elgar was of enough consequence locally to recommend the young composer [[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor]] to the Three Choirs Festival for a concert piece, which helped establish the younger man's career.{{refn|Elgar, in recommending Coleridge-Taylor for a commission from the festival, said, "He is far and away the cleverest fellow going among the young men."<ref>[[Jessica Duchen|Duchen, Jessica]]. [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/talking-classical-501427.html "Talking classical"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060520/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/talking-classical-501427.html |date=19 March 2021 }}, ''The Independent'', 5 October 2011.</ref>|group= n}} Elgar was catching the attention of prominent critics, but their reviews were polite rather than enthusiastic. Although he was in demand as a festival composer, he was only just getting by financially and felt unappreciated. In 1898, he said he was "very sick at heart over music" and hoped to find a way to succeed with a larger work. His friend [[August Jaeger]] tried to lift his spirits: "A day's attack of the blues&nbsp;... will not drive away your desire, your necessity, which is to exercise those creative faculties which a kind providence has given you. Your time of universal recognition will come."<ref>Kennedy (1987a), p. 50</ref>

[[File:A-J-Jaeger.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A Victorian man of middle age, with a moustache, seated, reading a newspaper, viewed in profile from his left|[[August Jaeger]], Elgar's publisher and friend, and "Nimrod" of the ''[[Enigma Variations]]'']]
In 1899, that prediction suddenly came true. At the age of forty-two, Elgar produced the ''[[Enigma Variations]]'', which were premiered in London under the baton of the eminent German conductor [[Hans Richter (conductor)|Hans Richter]]. In Elgar's own words, "I have sketched a set of Variations on an original theme. The Variations have amused me because I've labelled them with the nicknames of my particular friends&nbsp;... that is to say I've written the variations each one to represent the mood of the 'party' (the person)&nbsp;... and have written what I think they would have written – if they were asses enough to compose".<ref>Kennedy (1987a), p. 55</ref> He dedicated the work "To my friends pictured within". Probably the best known variation is "Nimrod", depicting Jaeger. Purely musical considerations led Elgar to omit variations depicting Arthur Sullivan and Hubert Parry, whose styles he tried but failed to incorporate in the variations.<ref>McVeagh (1987), p. 51; Hughes, p. 72</ref> The large-scale work was received with general acclaim for its originality, charm and craftsmanship, and it established Elgar as the pre-eminent British composer of his generation.<ref name=grove/>

The work is formally titled ''Variations on an Original Theme''; the word "Enigma" appears over the first six bars of music, which led to the familiar version of the title. The enigma is that, although there are fourteen variations on the "original theme", there is another overarching theme, never identified by Elgar, which he said "runs through and over the whole set" but is never heard.{{refn|It is not known whether Elgar meant a musical theme or a more general non-musical theme such as that of friendship. Many attempts have been made to find well-known tunes that can be played in counterpoint with Elgar's main musical theme of the piece, from [[Auld Lang Syne]] to a theme from [[Symphony No. 38 (Mozart)|Mozart's ''Prague'' Symphony]].<ref>Whitney, Craig R., [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/07/arts/new-answer-to-a-riddle-wrapped-in-elgar-s-enigma-variations.html?pagewanted=1 "New Answer to a Riddle Wrapped in Elgar's 'Enigma' Variations"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060521/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/07/arts/new-answer-to-a-riddle-wrapped-in-elgar-s-enigma-variations.html?pagewanted=1 |date=19 March 2021 }}, ''The New York Times'', 7 November 1991; Portnoy, Marshall A., [https://www.jstor.org/stable/948136 "The Answer to Elgar's 'Enigma'"], ''[[The Musical Quarterly]]'', Vol. 71, No. 2 (1985), pp. 205–10. Retrieved 24 October 2010 {{subscription}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060521/https://www.jstor.org/stable/948136 |date=19 March 2021 }}; and [[Jack Westrup|Westrup, J. A.]], "Elgar's Enigma", ''Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 86th Session (1959–1960)'', pp. 79–97. Retrieved 24 October 2010 {{subscription}}</ref>|group= n}} Later commentators have observed that although Elgar is today regarded as a characteristically English composer, his orchestral music and this work in particular share much with the Central European tradition typified at the time by the work of [[Richard Strauss]].<ref name=dnb/><ref name=grove/> The ''Enigma Variations'' were well received in Germany and Italy,<ref>Atkins, Ivor, "Elgar's 'Enigma' Variations", ''The Musical Times'', April 1934, pp. 328–30</ref> and remain to the present day a worldwide concert staple.{{refn|For example, according to the [http://www.elgar.org/4welcome.htm Elgar Society]'s website, in April and May 2010, the Variations were programmed in New Orleans, New York, [[Vancouver]], [[Denver]], Moscow, Washington D.C. and [[Kraków]].|group= n}}

===National and international fame===
[[File:JHNewman.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=head and shoulders portrait of an elderly man looking directly at the painter. He wears the red cassock and skull cap of a Roman Catholic cardinal|[[John Henry Newman|Cardinal Newman]], author of the text of ''The Dream of Gerontius'']]
Elgar's biographer Basil Maine commented, "When Sir Arthur Sullivan died in 1900 it became apparent to many that Elgar, although a composer of another build, was his true successor as first musician of the land."<ref name=maine/> Elgar's next major work was eagerly awaited.<ref>Reed, p. 59</ref> For the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival of 1900, he set Cardinal [[John Henry Newman]]'s poem ''[[The Dream of Gerontius]]'' for soloists, chorus and orchestra. Richter conducted the premiere, which was marred by a poorly prepared chorus, which sang badly.<ref>Reed, p. 60</ref> Critics recognised the mastery of the piece despite the defects in performance.<ref name=dnb/> It was performed in [[Düsseldorf]], Germany, in 1901 and again in 1902, conducted by [[Julius Buths]], who also conducted the European premiere of the ''Enigma Variations'' in 1901. The German press was enthusiastic. ''The Cologne Gazette'' said, "In both parts we meet with beauties of imperishable value.&nbsp;... Elgar stands on the shoulders of Berlioz, Wagner, and [[Franz Liszt|Liszt]], from whose influences he has freed himself until he has become an important individuality. He is one of the leaders of musical art of modern times." ''The Düsseldorfer Volksblatt'' wrote, "A memorable and epoch-making first performance! Since the days of Liszt nothing has been produced in the way of oratorio&nbsp;... which reaches the greatness and importance of this sacred cantata."<ref>"The German Press on Dr. Elgar's 'Dream of Gerontius{{' "}}, ''The Musical Times'', 1 February 1902, p. 100</ref> Richard Strauss, then widely viewed as the leading composer of his day,<ref name=reed61>Reed, p. 61</ref> was so impressed that in Elgar's presence he proposed a toast to the success of "the first English progressive musician, Meister Elgar."<ref name=reed61/>{{refn|Strauss and Elgar remained on friendly terms for the rest of Elgar's life, and Strauss paid him a warm obituary tribute in 1934.<ref name="mt322"/>| group= n}} Performances in Vienna, Paris and New York followed,<ref name=grove/><ref>"First Performances in Foreign Countries", ''The Musical Times'', April 1934, p. 318</ref> and ''The Dream of Gerontius'' soon became equally admired in Britain. According to Kennedy, "It is unquestionably the greatest British work in the oratorio form&nbsp;... [it] opened a new chapter in the English choral tradition and liberated it from its Handelian preoccupation."<ref name=dnb/> Elgar, as a Roman Catholic, was much moved by Newman's poem about the death and redemption of a sinner, but some influential members of the Anglican establishment disagreed. His colleague, [[Charles Villiers Stanford]] complained that the work "stinks of incense".<ref>Grogan, Christopher, "Elgar, Newman and 'The Dream of Gerontius'", ''Music & Letters'', Vol. 77, No. 4 (November 1996), pp. 629–32</ref> The [[Dean (Christianity)|Dean]] of [[Gloucester Cathedral|Gloucester]] banned ''Gerontius'' from his cathedral in 1901, and at Worcester the following year, the Dean insisted on expurgations before allowing a performance.<ref>Lewis, Geraint, "A Cathedral in Sound", ''Gramophone'', September 2008, p. 50. Retrieved 1 June 2010.</ref>

[[File:Clara-butt-crop.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=Head and shoulders shot of an Edwardian woman with dark hair, looking towards the camera|[[Clara Butt]], first singer of Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory"]]
Elgar is probably best known for the first of the five ''[[Pomp and Circumstance Marches]]'', which were composed between 1901 and 1930.<ref name=kpc>Kennedy (1970), pp. 38–39</ref> It is familiar to millions of television viewers all over the world every year who watch the [[Last Night of the Proms]],<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/09_september/07/proms.shtml "Last Night of the Proms set to reach largest ever global audience"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060540/https://edigitalsurvey.com/l.php?id=INS-642345567&v=7038&x=1600&y=1000&d=24&c=null&ck=1&p=%2Fpressoffice%2Fpressreleases%2Fstories%2F2009%2F09_september%2F07%2Fproms.shtml&fu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fpressoffice%2Fpressreleases%2Fstories%2F2009%2F09_september%2F07%2Fproms.shtml&xdm=edr&xdm_o=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk&xdm_c=edr0 |date=19 March 2021 }}, BBC, 7 September 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2010</ref> where it is traditionally performed. When the theme of the slower middle section (technically called the "[[Ternary form|trio]]") of the first march came into his head, he told his friend Dora Penny, "I've got a tune that will knock 'em&nbsp;– will knock 'em flat".<ref>Kennedy, Michael, Liner note (orig. 1977) to EMI CD CDM 5-66323-2</ref> When the first march was played in 1901 at a London Promenade Concert, it was conducted by [[Henry Wood]], who later wrote that the audience "rose and yelled&nbsp;... the one and only time in the history of the Promenade concerts that an orchestral item was accorded a double encore."<ref>Wood, p. 154</ref> To mark the [[coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra|coronation of Edward VII]], Elgar was commissioned to set [[A. C. Benson]]'s ''Coronation Ode'' for a gala concert at the Royal Opera House on 30 June 1902. The approval of the [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|king]] was confirmed, and Elgar began work. The [[contralto]] [[Clara Butt]] had persuaded him that the trio of the first ''Pomp and Circumstance'' march could have words fitted to it, and Elgar invited Benson to do so. Elgar incorporated the new vocal version into the Ode. The publishers of the score recognised the potential of the vocal piece, "[[Land of Hope and Glory]]", and asked Benson and Elgar to make a further revision for publication as a separate song.<ref>Moore (1984), pp. 364–67</ref> It was immensely popular and is now considered an unofficial British national anthem.<ref name=dnb/> In the United States, the trio, known simply as "Pomp and Circumstance" or "The Graduation March", has been adopted since 1905 for virtually all high school and university graduations.<ref name=grad>[http://www.elgar.org/3pomp-b.htm "Why Americans graduate to Elgar"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706025349/http://www.elgar.org/3pomp-b.htm |date=6 July 2011 }}, The Elgar Society. Retrieved 5 June 2010.</ref><ref>Hoffman, Miles, [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1273081 "''Pomp and Circumstance'': Familiar Standard Marches Ahead of Competitors"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060555/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1273081 |date=19 March 2021 }}, NPR Music. Retrieved 25 October 2010.</ref>

In March 1904 a three-day festival of Elgar's works was presented at Covent Garden, an honour never before given to any English composer. ''[[The Times]]'' commented, "Four or five years ago if any one had predicted that the Opera-house would be full from floor to ceiling for the performance of an oratorio by an English composer he would probably have been supposed to be out of his mind."<ref name=times150304>"Concerts", ''The Times'', 15 March 1904, p. 8</ref> The king and [[Alexandra of Denmark|queen]] attended the first concert, at which Richter conducted ''The Dream of Gerontius'',<ref name=times150304/> and returned the next evening for the second, the London premiere of ''[[The Apostles (Elgar)|The Apostles]]'' (first heard the previous year at the Birmingham Festival).<ref>"The Elgar Festival", ''The Times'', 16 March 1904, p. 12</ref> The final concert of the festival, conducted by Elgar, was primarily orchestral, apart for an excerpt from ''Caractacus'' and the complete ''[[Sea Pictures]]'' (sung by Clara Butt). The orchestral items were ''Froissart'', the ''Enigma Variations'', ''[[Cockaigne (In London Town)|Cockaigne]]'', the first two (at that time the only two) ''Pomp and Circumstance'' marches, and the premiere of a new orchestral work, ''[[In the South (Alassio)|In the South]]'', inspired by a holiday in Italy.<ref>"The Elgar Festival", ''The Times'', 17 March 1904, p. 8</ref>

[[File:Mason Science College.png|thumb|right|alt=drawing of exterior of Victorian neo-gothic building|[[Mason College]], which housed the Faculty of Arts at the [[University of Birmingham]] when Elgar was Peyton Professor of Music]]
Elgar was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] at Buckingham Palace on 5 July 1904.<ref>"Birthday Honours", ''The Times'', 24 June 1904, p. 12</ref> The following month, he and his family moved to Plâs Gwyn,<ref>[https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/738652 "Elgar Court, once known as Plas Gwyn"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605021920/http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/738652 |date=5 June 2011 }}, Geograph. Retrieved 29 October 2010</ref> a large house on the outskirts of [[Hereford]], overlooking the [[River Wye]], where they lived until 1911.<ref name=dnb/> Between 1902 and 1914, Elgar was, in Kennedy's words, at the zenith of popularity.<ref name=dnb/> He made four visits to the US, including one conducting tour, and earned considerable fees from the performance of his music. Between 1905 and 1908, he held the post of Peyton Professor of Music at the [[University of Birmingham]].<ref name=grove/> He had accepted the post reluctantly, feeling that a composer should not head a school of music.<ref>Moore (1984), p. 446</ref> He was not at ease in the role,<ref>Reed, p. 92</ref> and his lectures caused controversy, with his attacks on the critics<ref>Reed, p. 89</ref>{{refn|Elgar's principal target was [[John Alexander Fuller Maitland|J.A. Fuller Maitland]], music critic of ''The Times'', whose patronising obituary of Arthur Sullivan repelled Elgar;<ref>Fuller Maitland, J. A., "Sir Arthur Sullivan", ''[[Cornhill Magazine]]'', March 1901, pp. 300–09</ref> in his Birmingham lectures he alluded to it as "the shady side of musical criticism&nbsp;... that foul unforgettable episode."<ref>Young (1971), p. 264</ref>|group= n}} and on English music in general: "Vulgarity in the course of time may be refined. Vulgarity often goes with inventiveness&nbsp;... but the commonplace mind can never be anything but commonplace. An Englishman will take you into a large room, beautifully proportioned, and will point out to you that it is white – all over white – and somebody will say, 'What exquisite taste'. You know in your own mind, in your own soul, that it is not taste at all, that it is the want of taste, that is mere evasion. English music is white, and evades everything." He regretted the controversy and was glad to hand on the post to his friend [[Granville Bantock]] in 1908.<ref>Reed, p. 97</ref> His new life as a celebrity was a mixed blessing to the highly strung Elgar, as it interrupted his privacy, and he often was in ill-health. He complained to Jaeger in 1903, "My life is one continual giving up of little things which I love."<ref>Kennedy (1987a), p. 144</ref> Both [[W. S. Gilbert]] and [[Thomas Hardy]] sought to collaborate with Elgar in this decade. Elgar refused, but would have collaborated with [[George Bernard Shaw|Bernard Shaw]] had Shaw been willing.<ref>Anderson, pp. 115–16</ref>

Elgar paid three visits to the USA between 1905 and 1911. His first was to conduct his music and to accept a doctorate from [[Yale University]].<ref name=grove/>{{refn|This was the occasion on which the American tradition of playing the trio of the first Pomp and Circumstance March at graduation ceremonies originated. On that occasion Elgar met [[Horatio Parker]], composer and Dean of the Department of Music at Yale, who then played "Pomp and Circumstance" on the organ.<ref>Moore (1987), p.462</ref> It may have been this meeting that lead to an invitation to contribute some songs to a specially designed series of music instruction books for children of which Parker was principal editor.<ref>''The Progressive Music Series, Books One, Two, Three & Four'', Silver, Burdett & Co., 1914</ref> For that series Elgar wrote three little songs: ''The Merry-go-round'', ''The Brook'', and ''The Windlass Song''.|group=n}} His principal composition in 1905 was the ''[[Introduction and Allegro (Elgar)|Introduction and Allegro for Strings]]'', dedicated to [[Samuel Sanford]]. It was well received but did not catch the public imagination as ''The Dream of Gerontius'' had done and continued to do. Among keen Elgarians, however, ''The Kingdom'' was sometimes preferred to the earlier work: Elgar's friend [[Leo Frank Schuster|Frank Schuster]] told the young [[Adrian Boult]]: "compared with ''The Kingdom'', ''Gerontius'' is the work of a raw amateur."<ref>Kennedy (1987b), p. 29</ref>

As Elgar approached his fiftieth birthday, he began work on his first symphony, a project that had been in his mind in various forms for nearly ten years.<ref>Reed, p. 96</ref> His [[Symphony No. 1 (Elgar)|First Symphony]] (1908) was a national and international triumph. Within weeks of the premiere it was performed in New York under [[Walter Damrosch]], Vienna under [[Ferdinand Löwe]], St Petersburg under [[Alexander Siloti]], and Leipzig under [[Arthur Nikisch]]. There were performances in Rome, Chicago, Boston, Toronto and fifteen British towns and cities. In just over a year, it received a hundred performances in Britain, America and continental Europe.<ref name="mt1209">"Elgar's Symphony", ''The Musical Times'', 1 February 1909, p. 102</ref>

[[File:Kreisler.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=photograph of a middle aged man with a small moustache and bow-tie, looking towards the camera|[[Fritz Kreisler]], dedicatee of Elgar's Violin Concerto]]
The [[Violin Concerto (Elgar)|Violin Concerto]] (1910) was commissioned by [[Fritz Kreisler]], one of the leading international violinists of the time. Elgar wrote it during the summer of 1910, with occasional help from W. H. Reed, the leader of the [[London Symphony Orchestra]] (LSO), who helped the composer with advice on technical points. Elgar and Reed formed a firm friendship, which lasted for the rest of Elgar's life. Reed's biography, ''Elgar As I Knew Him'' (1936), records many details of Elgar's methods of composition.<ref>Reed, p. 102</ref> The work was presented by the [[Royal Philharmonic Society]], with Kreisler and the LSO, conducted by the composer. Reed recalled, "the Concerto proved to be a complete triumph, the concert a brilliant and unforgettable occasion."<ref name=reed103>Reed, p. 103</ref> So great was the impact of the concerto that Kreisler's rival [[Eugène Ysaÿe]] spent much time with Elgar going through the work. There was great disappointment when contractual difficulties prevented Ysaÿe from playing it in London.<ref name=reed103/>

The Violin Concerto was Elgar's last popular triumph. The following year he presented his [[Symphony No. 2 (Elgar)|Second Symphony]] in London, but was disappointed at its reception. Unlike the First Symphony, it ends not in a blaze of orchestral splendour but quietly and contemplatively. Reed, who played at the premiere, later wrote that Elgar was recalled to the platform several times to acknowledge the applause, "but missed that unmistakable note perceived when an audience, even an English audience, is thoroughly roused or worked up, as it was after the Violin Concerto or the First Symphony."<ref name=reed105>Reed, p. 105</ref> Elgar asked Reed, "What is the matter with them, Billy? They sit there like a lot of stuffed pigs."<ref name=reed105/> The work was, by normal standards, a success, with twenty-seven performances within three years of its premiere, but it did not achieve the international ''furore'' of the First Symphony.<ref name=mason/>

===Last major works===
[[File:Edward Elgar 1917.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=photograph of a man in late middle age, with a large Roman nose, a receding hairline, and a large moustache. He is shown in left profile|Elgar aged about 60]]
In June 1911, as part of the celebrations surrounding the [[Coronation of the British monarch|coronation]] of [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]], Elgar was appointed to the [[Order of Merit]],<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/28505/supplements/4593 Supplement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107150433/http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/28505/supplements/4593 |date=7 November 2012 }}, ''[[The London Gazette]]'', no. 2769, p. 4448, 19 June 1911. Retrieved 27 October 2010.</ref> an honour limited to twenty-four holders at any time. The following year, the Elgars moved back to London, to a large house in [[Netherhall Gardens]], [[Hampstead]], designed by [[Richard Norman Shaw|Norman Shaw]]. There Elgar composed his last two large-scale works of the pre-war era, the choral ode, ''The Music Makers'' (for the Birmingham Festival, 1912) and the symphonic study ''[[Falstaff (Elgar)|Falstaff]]'' (for the Leeds Festival, 1913). Both were received politely but without enthusiasm. Even the dedicatee of ''Falstaff'', the conductor [[Landon Ronald]], confessed privately that he could not "make head or tail of the piece,"<ref>Kennedy (1971), p. 82</ref> while the musical scholar [[Percy Scholes]] wrote of ''Falstaff'' that it was a "great work" but, "so far as public appreciation goes, a comparative failure."<ref>Scholes, Percy A., "Elgar's 'Falstaff' Reconsidered", ''The Musical Times'', 1 August 1929, p. 696</ref>

When World War I broke out, Elgar was horrified at the prospect of the carnage, but his patriotic feelings were nonetheless aroused.<ref>Reed, p. 115</ref> He composed "A Song for Soldiers", which he later withdrew. He signed up as a special constable in the local police and later joined the Hampstead Volunteer Reserve of the army.<ref>Reed, pp. 115 and 118</ref> He composed patriotic works, ''[[Carillon (Elgar)|Carillon]]'', a recitation for speaker and orchestra in honour of Belgium,<ref>Reed, pp. 115–16</ref> and ''[[Polonia (Elgar)|Polonia]]'', an orchestral piece in honour of Poland.<ref>Reed, pp. 117–18</ref> "Land of Hope and Glory", already popular, became still more so, and Elgar wished in vain to have new, less nationalistic, words sung to the tune.<ref name=grove/>

[[File:Binyon-kipling.jpg|thumb|left|alt=composite image of two photographs of two younger men, the first has a pencil moustache and is looking into the camera; the second has a large moustache and spectacles and is seen in semi-profile from his right|[[Laurence Binyon]] (top) and [[Rudyard Kipling]], whose verses Elgar set during World War I]]
Elgar's other compositions during the war included [[incidental music]] for a children's play, ''[[The Starlight Express]]'' (1915); a ballet, ''[[The Sanguine Fan]]'' (1917); and ''[[The Spirit of England]]'' (1915–17, to poems by [[Laurence Binyon]]), three choral settings very different in character from the romantic patriotism of his earlier years.<ref name=grove/> His last large-scale composition of the war years was ''[[The Fringes of the Fleet]]'', settings of verses by [[Rudyard Kipling]], performed with great popular success around the country, until Kipling for unexplained reasons objected to their performance in theatres.<ref>Reed, p. 121</ref> Elgar conducted a recording of the work for the [[Gramophone Company]].<ref>HMV discs 02734-7. See Rust, p. 45</ref>

Towards the end of the war, Elgar was in poor health. His wife thought it best for him to move to the countryside, and she rented "Brinkwells", a house near [[Fittleworth]] in Sussex, from the painter [[Rex Vicat Cole]]. There Elgar recovered his strength and, in 1918 and 1919, he produced four large-scale works. The first three of these were [[chamber music|chamber pieces]]: the [[Violin Sonata (Elgar)|Violin Sonata in E&nbsp;minor]], the [[Piano Quintet (Elgar)|Piano Quintet in A minor]], and the [[String Quartet (Elgar)|String Quartet in E minor]]. On hearing the work in progress, Alice Elgar wrote in her diary, "E. writing wonderful new music".<ref name=oliver>Oliver, Michael, Review, ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'', June 1986, p. 73</ref> All three works were well received. ''The Times'' wrote, "Elgar's sonata contains much that we have heard before in other forms, but as we do not at all want him to change and be somebody else, that is as it should be."<ref>"Sir E. Elgar's Violin Sonata", ''The Times'', 22 March 1919, p. 9</ref> The quartet and quintet were premiered at the [[Wigmore Hall]] on 21 May 1919. ''[[The Guardian|The Manchester Guardian]]'' wrote, "This quartet, with its tremendous climaxes, curious refinements of dance-rhythms, and its perfect symmetry, and the quintet, more lyrical and passionate, are as perfect examples of chamber music as the great oratorios were of their type."<ref>"Elgar's New Chamber Music", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 22 May 1919, p. 10</ref>

{{listen|type=music|filename=Edward Elgar - cello concerto in e minor, op. 85 - iv. allegro.ogg|title=Cello Concerto – IV. Allegro|description=Performed by the Skidmore College Orchestra.}}
By contrast, the remaining work, the [[Cello Concerto (Elgar)|Cello Concerto in E minor]], had a disastrous premiere, at the opening concert of the LSO's 1919–20 season in October 1919. Apart from the Elgar work, which the composer conducted, the rest of the programme was conducted by [[Albert Coates (musician)|Albert Coates]], who overran his rehearsal time at the expense of Elgar's. Lady Elgar wrote, "that brutal selfish ill-mannered bounder&nbsp;... that brute Coates went on rehearsing."<ref name=webber>Lloyd-Webber, Julian, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3665153/How-I-fell-in-love-with-E-Es-darling.html "How I fell in love with E E's darling"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016094341/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3665153/How-I-fell-in-love-with-E-Es-darling.html |date=16 October 2019 }}, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 17 May 2007.</ref> The critic of ''[[The Observer]]'', [[Ernest Newman]], wrote, "There have been rumours about during the week of inadequate rehearsal. Whatever the explanation, the sad fact remains that never, in all probability, has so great an orchestra made so lamentable an exhibition of itself.&nbsp;... The work itself is lovely stuff, very simple – that pregnant simplicity that has come upon Elgar's music in the last couple of years – but with a profound wisdom and beauty underlying its simplicity."<ref>Newman, Ernest, "Music of the Week", ''The Observer'', 2 November 1919</ref> Elgar attached no blame to his soloist, [[Felix Salmond]], who played the work for him again later.<ref name="Reed, p. 131">Reed, p. 131</ref> In contrast with the First Symphony and its hundred performances in just over a year, the Cello Concerto did not have a second performance in London for more than a year.<ref>"Elgar's Cello Concerto", ''The Observer'', 16 January 1921, p. 15</ref>

===Last years===
[[File:Elgar-by-Rothenstein.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=drawing of an ageing man in left profile; he has receding white hair and a large moustache|Elgar in 1919, by [[William Rothenstein]]]]Although in the 1920s Elgar's music was no longer in fashion,<ref name=dnb/> his admirers continued to present his works when possible. Reed singles out a performance of the Second Symphony in March 1920 conducted by "a young man almost unknown to the public", Adrian Boult, for bringing "the grandeur and nobility of the work" to a wider public. Also in 1920, Landon Ronald presented an all-Elgar concert at the [[Queen's Hall]].<ref>Reed, p. 130</ref> Alice Elgar wrote with enthusiasm about the reception of the symphony, but this was one of the last times she heard Elgar's music played in public.<ref>Reed, p. 13</ref> After a short illness, she died of lung cancer on 7 April 1920, at the age of seventy-two.<ref>Moore (1984), pp. 750–51</ref>

Elgar was devastated by the loss of his wife.<ref name="Reed, p. 131"/> With no public demand for new works, and deprived of Alice's constant support and inspiration, he allowed himself to be deflected from composition. His daughter later wrote that Elgar inherited from his father a reluctance to "settle down to work on hand but could cheerfully spend hours over some perfectly unnecessary and entirely unremunerative undertaking", a trait that became stronger after Alice's death.<ref>Moore (1984), p. 17</ref> For much of the rest of his life, Elgar indulged himself in his several hobbies.<ref name=dnb/> Throughout his life he was a keen [[amateur chemist]], sometimes using a laboratory in his back garden.<ref>[http://www.classicfm.co.uk/music/musical-map-britain/plas-gwyn-hereford/ "Plas Gwyn, Hereford"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060534/https://www.classicfm.com/ |date=19 March 2021 }}, Classic FM. Retrieved 25 October 2010.</ref> He even patented the "Elgar Sulphuretted Hydrogen Apparatus" in 1908.<ref>[http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2010/July/ColumnThecrucible.asp Royal Society of Chemistry]. Retrieved 18 October 2014</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/symphonylistener00stei/page/155 <!-- quote=elgar sulphuretted hydrogen apparatus. --> Michael Sternberg, ''The Symphony: A Listener's Guide'', p. 155]. Retrieved 18 October 2014</ref><ref>[http://faculty.cua.edu/may/elgar.pdf faculty.cua.edu] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003105702/http://faculty.cua.edu/may/Elgar.pdf |date=3 October 2008 }}. Retrieved 18 October 2014</ref> He enjoyed [[Association football|football]], supporting [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.]], for whom he composed an anthem,<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11411360 BBC News, 25 September 2010, Elgar's Wolverhampton Wanderers striker anthem sung] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060536/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-11411360 |date=19 March 2021 }}. Retrieved 13 July 2018</ref> ''"He Banged the Leather for Goal"'',<ref>Alleyne, Richard, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8026215/Sir-Edward-Elgar-wrote-football-chant-along-with-his-classical-music.html "Sir Edward Elgar wrote football chant along with his classical music"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060534/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8026215/Sir-Edward-Elgar-wrote-football-chant-along-with-his-classical-music.html |date=19 March 2021 }}, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 26 September 2010</ref> and in his later years he frequently attended horseraces. His protégés, the conductor [[Malcolm Sargent]] and violinist [[Yehudi Menuhin]], both recalled rehearsals with Elgar at which he swiftly satisfied himself that all was well and then went off to the races.<ref>"Malcolm Sargent", BBC LP RE10 1967 (includes recording of Sargent talking about Elgar)</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/menuhiny1.shtml "Yehudi Menuhin".] BBC Four. Retrieved 1 May 2010</ref> In his younger days, Elgar had been an enthusiastic cyclist, buying [[Sunbeam Cycles|Royal Sunbeam bicycles]] for himself and his wife in 1903 (he named his "Mr. [[Phoebus]]").<ref>Moore (1984), p. 323</ref> As an elderly widower, he enjoyed being driven about the countryside by his chauffeur.<ref name=dnb/> In November and December 1923, he took a voyage to Brazil, journeying up the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] to [[Manaus]], where he was impressed by its opera house, the [[Amazon Theatre|Teatro Amazonas]]. Almost nothing is recorded about Elgar's activities or the events that he encountered during the trip, which gave the novelist [[James Hamilton-Paterson]] considerable latitude when writing ''Gerontius'', a fictional account of the journey.<ref name=service>Service, Tom, [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/25/elgar-brazil-amazon-gerontius "Beyond the Malverns: Elgar in the Amazon"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060601/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/25/elgar-brazil-amazon-gerontius |date=19 March 2021 }}, ''The Guardian'', 25 March 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2010</ref>

After Alice's death, Elgar sold the Hampstead house, and after living for a short time in a flat in [[St James's]] in the heart of London, he moved back to Worcestershire, to the village of [[Kempsey, Worcestershire|Kempsey]], where he lived from 1923 to 1927.<ref>Reed, p. 134</ref> He did not wholly abandon composition in these years. He made large-scale symphonic arrangements of works by [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]] and [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]] and wrote his ''Empire March'' and eight songs ''[[Pageant of Empire (Elgar)|Pageant of Empire]]'' for the 1924 [[British Empire Exhibition]].<ref>Reed, pp. 207–09</ref> Shortly after these were published, he was appointed [[Master of the Queen's Music|Master of the King's Musick]] on 13 May 1924, following the death of [[Walter Parratt|Sir Walter Parratt]].<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/32935/pages/3841 ''The London Gazette''], no. 32935, p. 3841, 13 May 1924. Retrieved 27 October 2010.</ref>

From 1926 onwards, Elgar made a series of recordings of his own works. Described by the music writer Robert Philip as "the first composer to take the gramophone seriously",<ref name=philip>Philip, Robert, "The recordings of Edward Elgar (1857–1934): Authenticity and Performance Practice", ''Early Music'', November 1984, pp. 481–89</ref> he had already recorded much of his music by the early acoustic-recording process for [[Gramophone Company|His Master's Voice (HMV)]] from 1914 onwards, but the introduction of electrical microphones in 1925 transformed the gramophone from a novelty into a realistic medium for reproducing orchestral and choral music.<ref name=philip/> Elgar was the first composer to take full advantage of this technological advance.<ref name=philip/> [[Fred Gaisberg]] of HMV, who produced Elgar's recordings, set up a series of sessions to capture on disc the composer's interpretations of his major orchestral works, including the ''Enigma Variations'', ''Falstaff'', the first and second symphonies, and the cello and violin concertos. For most of these, the orchestra was the LSO, but the ''Variations'' were played by the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra. Later in the series of recordings, Elgar also conducted two newly founded orchestras, Boult's [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] and [[Thomas Beecham|Sir Thomas Beecham]]'s [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]].

Elgar's recordings were released on 78-rpm discs by both HMV and [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]]. After World War II, the 1932 recording of the Violin Concerto with the teenage Menuhin as soloist remained available on 78 and later on [[LP record|LP]], but the other recordings were out of the catalogues for some years. When they were reissued by EMI on LP in the 1970s, they caused surprise to many by their fast tempi, in contrast to the slower speeds adopted by many conductors in the years since Elgar's death.<ref name=philip/> The recordings were reissued on CD in the 1990s.<ref>"Elgar Edition", ''Gramophone'', June 1992; February 1993; and August 1993</ref>

{{listen|type=music|filename=Pomp and circumstances No. 1.ogg |title=Trio of ''Pomp and Circumstance Marches'' No. 1|description=Conducted by Elgar in 1931 at the opening of [[EMI]]'s studios}}
In November 1931, Elgar was filmed by [[Pathé]] for a newsreel depicting a recording session of ''Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1'' at the opening of EMI's [[Abbey Road Studios]] in London. It is believed to be the only surviving sound film of Elgar, who makes a brief remark before conducting the LSO, asking the musicians to "play this tune as though you've never heard it before."<ref>{{YouTube|kgBjUv_50kY}}. Retrieved 18 February 2023</ref> A memorial plaque to Elgar at Abbey Road was unveiled on 24 June 1993.<ref>[http://transact.westminster.gov.uk/greenplaques/displaybyname.cfm "Green plaques scheme"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203015135/http://transact.westminster.gov.uk/greenplaques/displaybyname.cfm |date=3 December 2013 }}, City of Westminster. Retrieved 15 March 2014</ref>

A late piece of Elgar's, the ''[[Nursery Suite]]'', was an early example of a studio premiere: its first performance was in the Abbey Road studios. For this work, dedicated to the wife and daughters of the [[George VI of the United Kingdom|Duke of York]], Elgar once again drew on his youthful sketch-books.<ref name=grove/>{{refn|The elder daughter was Princess Elizabeth of York (later [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]]).| group= n}}

[[File:Elgar's grave, Little Malvern.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=photograph of grave in churchyard|Elgar family grave at [[St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church]], [[Little Malvern]]]]
In his final years, Elgar experienced a musical revival. The BBC organised a festival of his works to celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday, in 1932.<ref>Reed, p. 142</ref> He flew to Paris in 1933 to conduct the Violin Concerto for Menuhin. While in France, he visited his fellow composer [[Frederick Delius]] at his house at [[Grez-sur-Loing]].<ref name=maine/> He was sought out by younger musicians such as Adrian Boult, Malcolm Sargent and [[John Barbirolli]], who championed his music when it was out of fashion.<ref>Moore (1979), pp. 42–47, 56–59, 96–98</ref><ref>Aldous, p. 124</ref> He began work on an opera, ''The Spanish Lady'', and accepted a commission from the [[BBC]] to compose a [[Symphony No. 3 (Elgar/Payne)|Third Symphony]]. His final illness prevented their completion. He fretted about the unfinished works. He asked Reed to ensure that nobody would "tinker" with the sketches and attempt a completion of the symphony,<ref>Reed, p. 145</ref> but at other times he said, "If I can't complete the Third Symphony, somebody will complete it – or write a better one."<ref name=payne>Payne, Anthony (1998), Liner notes to NMC compact disc D053</ref> After Elgar's death, [[Percy M. Young]], in co-operation with the BBC and Elgar's daughter Carice, produced a version of ''The Spanish Lady'',<ref>[http://www.elgar.org/3splady.htm ''The Spanish Lady''], The Elgar Society. Retrieved 2 June 2010.</ref> which was issued on CD. The Third Symphony sketches were elaborated by the composer [[Anthony Payne]] into a complete score in 1997.<ref name=payne/>

Inoperable [[colorectal cancer]] was discovered during an operation on 8 October 1933. He told his consulting doctor, [[Arthur Thomson (physician)|Arthur Thomson]], that he had no faith in an [[afterlife]]: "I believe there is nothing but complete oblivion."<ref>Moore (1984) p. 818</ref> Elgar died on 23 February 1934 at the age of seventy-six and was buried next to his wife at [[St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church]] in [[Little Malvern]].<ref>Young (1973), p. 246</ref> <!--NO KENNEDY 1968 IN THE SOURCES at the funeral there were no flowers, no visible signs of mourning and no music: only the song of the birds.<ref>Kennedy (1968) p. 269</ref>-->