Enigma Variations, Op. 36

The piece opens with a wistful, halting theme in G minor, quiet and searching, that will return transformed in each variation. Elgar labeled each variation with initials or a nickname standing for a friend, so the music shifts personality from one to the next: some bustling and comic, some tender.

Early variations sketch quick character portraits, a nervous flutter for one friend, a galloping rhythm for another, a variation built on a stammering laugh. Listen for sudden changes of mood and tempo between sections, since each one is a fresh sketch rather than a developing argument.

The ninth variation, "Nimrod," is the emotional center: a slow, broad melody that grows from a hushed opening to a full-orchestra climax before receding again. Many listeners recognize it even without knowing the rest of the piece, since it's often played on its own at memorials and ceremonies.

After Nimrod, the variations turn playful again, including a skittering scherzo-like sketch and a variation imitating a friend's stutter on the piano. The final variation, marked "E.D.U." (Elgar's own nickname from his wife), brings back the opening theme in a triumphant, expanded orchestral peroration, closing the work with grandeur rather than the mystery of its opening.

Elgar composed the Enigma Variations in 1898 and 1899, writing each variation as a musical portrait of someone close to him, including his wife, friends, and himself in the finale. He never fully explained the "enigma" of the title, and left open the puzzle of a hidden theme he claimed runs alongside the music, a question that has intrigued audiences ever since. The premiere took place in London in 1899 under the German conductor Hans Richter, and its success established Elgar's reputation as England's leading composer almost overnight. The ninth variation, "Nimrod," a tribute to Elgar's publisher and friend Augustus Jaeger, quickly became independently famous and is often performed at remembrance ceremonies and state occasions in Britain. The full set remains a staple of orchestral programs worldwide.