The composer Edward Elgar once 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.” Nowhere is this more true than in the English composer’s “Enigma Variations,” the breakout work that kickstarted his international career. This rich work, which premiered in 1899, drew inspiration from Elgar’s close friends—and even from the composer himself.
The “Variations on an Original Theme,” better known as the “Enigma Variations,” consists of an “Enigma” theme followed by 14 variations, each portraying one of Elgar’s close friends through a musical sketch. Each sketch is identified by a set of initials or a pseudonym, from the first variation “C.A.E.” representing Elgar’s beloved wife Caroline Alice Elgar, to the 10th variation “Dorabella” referencing friend Dora Penny. The work concludes with a self-portrait, with the bombastic finale “E.D.U.” taking its descriptor from “Edoo,” Alice’s affectionate nickname for her husband.
