PROGRAM NOTES

Edward Elgar

Pomp and Circumstance, March No. 1, Op. 39

Few melodies have embedded themselves so deeply in the collective national consciousnesses of Britons and Americans as the trio section of Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1. Elgar, who described the theme as “coming once in a lifetime,” sensed the appeal and staying power of this simple, aspirational tune. In the UK, this music is known as “Land of Hope and Glory,” England’s unofficial second national anthem. For Americans, the trio section’s indelible association with graduation ceremonies dates back to June 28, 1905, when Yale University played the trio at their annual commencement exercise in homage to Elgar, who was there to receive an honorary doctorate.

In 1902, Elgar was asked to provide music for King Edward VII’s upcoming coronation. On a suggestion from King Edward himself, Elgar added lyrics from poet A. C. Benson to the Pomp and Circumstance trio, which became the hymn, “Land of Hope and Glory.” In its enhanced version, Elgar featured the new hymn as the conclusion to his Coronation Ode.

Conductor Sir Henry Wood recalled the reception given to Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 at its London premiere: “The people simply rose and yelled. I had to play it again – with the same result; in fact, they refused to let me go on with the programme…”

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

In 1900, Sergei Rachmaninoff was at low ebb, professionally and emotionally. His Symphony No. 1 had premiered to dismal reviews three years earlier, triggering a paralyzing depression that plagued Rachmaninoff off and on throughout the rest of his life.

“I did nothing and found no pleasure in anything,” Rachmaninoff wrote in his Memoirs. “Half my days were spent lying on a couch and sighing over my ruined life.” In desperation, Rachmaninoff sought help from a hypnotist, Dr. Nicolai Dahl, who was also an amateur string player. Dahl, using hypnotic techniques, would plant encouraging thoughts about writing the concerto in Rachmaninoff’s head during their sessions.

In Rachmaninoff’s Recollections, the composer recounts, “I heard the same hypnotic formula repeated day after day while I lay half asleep in my armchair in Dr. Dahl’s study: ‘You will begin to write your concerto... You will work with great facility... The concerto will be of excellent quality...’ It was always the same, without interruption. Although it may sound incredible, this cure really helped me.”

With Dahl’s help, Rachmaninoff was able to complete the concerto. It became an instant success, and, a year later, when the Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor was published, Rachmaninoff dedicated it to “Monsieur N. Dahl.”

The concerto opens with a series of chords by the soloist that expand in both volume and intensity. Interestingly for a piano concerto, the solo part is more of an accompaniment until the second theme appears. The movement continues with a rousing march in the piano, which dissolves into a solo horn intoning the second theme. The power of the opening returns for a brief, fiery conclusion.

The sensual beauty of the Adagio sostenuto creates an atmosphere of enchanted otherworldliness. The primary melody is heard first in the clarinet and flute, with the piano accompanying. The soloist then takes up the melody, one of serene, unabashed romanticism, and develops it, with accompanying woodwinds and strings.

For the Allegro scherzando, the lower instruments murmur a brief introduction to the soloist’s opening showy cadenza, which segues into the staccato pulsing rhythm of the first motif. Violas and solo oboe play a contrasting lyrical countertheme. The two themes vie for prominence as the mood of this movement shifts abruptly from jittery agitation to ecstatic rhapsody. Rachmaninoff concludes with a pull-out-all-the-stops ending.

EDWARD ELGAR Symphony No. 1 in A-flat major, Op. 55

“There is no programme beyond a wide experience of human life with a great charity (love) and a massive hope in the future.” – Edward Elgar on his first symphony

If Edward Elgar had been asked to name the greatest living composer of his time, he would likely have replied, “Richard Strauss.” Elgar had great admiration for Strauss’ colorful orchestrations, and his masterful ability to present compelling narratives through music (for his part, Strauss praised Elgar as “the first English progressive”).

Elgar himself also favored the “absolute music” embodied in symphonies, but by the early 20th century, many considered the genre passé. Like every successor to Beethoven, Elgar approached the idea of writing a symphony with some trepidation; could he create a work that could stand on its own, alongside the towering symphonic legacies of Beethoven, Brahms, and Mahler? Elgar determined to try. In 1905, while lecturing at Birmingham University, he declared, “It seems to me that because the greatest genius of our days, Richard Strauss, recognizes the symphonic-poem as a fit vehicle for his splendid achievements, some writers are inclined to be positive that the symphony is dead … but when the looked-for genius comes, it may be absolutely revived.” Elgar may or may not have had himself in mind when he mentioned the “looked-for genius” (such a statement seems at odds with the English national penchant for humility and self-deprecation), but there is no doubt the idea of a symphony had been gestating within him for some time.

In the winter of 1907, Elgar, his wife Alice, and their daughter Carice traveled to Rome; while there he began working on the first movement of Op. 55. Upon his return to England, Elgar completed the remaining movements. When conductor Hans Richter led the first performance, the audience was so moved by the Adagio that they broke with Richter’s strict protocol of enforcing silence between movements. Richter invited Elgar to the stage to acknowledge the audience’s cheers before continuing with the final movement.

The symphony begins with a noble, expansive theme of heroic proportions, which returns at the end of the fourth movement. Unlike the straightforward statement of this grand theme, Elgar introduces subsequent melodic ideas more indirectly, by giving them first to the players at the back of a string section. “I have employed the last desks of the strings to get a soft diffused sound: the listener need not be bothered to know where it comes from – the effect is of course different from that obtained from the first desk soli,” Elgar explained.

Elgar’s first symphony fulfilled the hopes of all who heard it, including its creator. Richter declared it “the greatest symphony of modern times,” while the Daily Mail, under the heading “The Musical Event of the Year,” wrote, “It is quite plain that here we have perhaps the finest masterpiece of its type that ever came from the pen of an English composer.” Within a year of its premiere, Op. 55 had been performed approximately 100 times in concert halls around the world.

© Elizabeth Schwartz 2023