Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies. He also composed choral works, including The Dream of Gerontius, chamber music and songs. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924.
Although Elgar is often regarded as a typically English composer, most of his musical influences were not from England but from continental Europe. He felt himself to be an outsider, not only musically, but socially. In musical circles dominated by academics, he was a self-taught composer; in Protestant Britain, his Roman Catholicism was regarded with suspicion in some quarters; and in the class-conscious society of Victorian and Edwardian Britain, he was acutely sensitive about his humble origins even after he achieved recognition. He nevertheless married the daughter of a senior British Army officer. She inspired him both musically and socially, but he struggled to achieve success until his forties, when after a series of moderately successful works his Enigma Variations (1899) became immediately popular in Britain and overseas. He followed the Variations with a choral work, The Dream of Gerontius (1900), based on a Roman Catholic text that caused some disquiet in the Anglican establishment in Britain, but it became, and has remained, a core repertory work in Britain and elsewhere. His later full-length religious choral works were well received but have not entered the regular repertory.
In his fifties, Elgar composed a symphony and a violin concerto that were immensely successful. His second symphony and his cello concerto did not gain immediate public popularity and took many years to achieve a regular place in the concert repertory of British orchestras. Elgar's music came, in his later years, to be seen as appealing chiefly to British audiences. His stock remained low for a generation after his death. It began to revive significantly in the 1960s, helped by new recordings of his works. Some of his works have, in recent years, been taken up again internationally, but the music continues to be played more in Britain than elsewhere.
Elgar has been described as the first composer to take the gramophone seriously. Between 1914 and 1925, he conducted a series of acoustic recordings of his works. The introduction of the moving-coil microphone in 1923 made far more accurate sound reproduction possible, and Elgar made new recordings of most of his major orchestral works and excerpts from The Dream of Gerontius.
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Some of their strengths
Edward Elgar has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Sophisticated, Charming, Energetic, Intelligent, Passionate, Optimistic, and Organized.
Charming and Quick-witted
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Edward Elgar is someone who is a charming, quick-witted, and energetic person who combines passion and intelligence with an ability to feel what others are feeling and to effectively communicate with them. A person who is ambitious and motivated.
Warm and Caring
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Edward Elgar well know them as someone who can be warm, caring, and compassionate, like a lamp or torch.
Independent and Organized
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Edward Elgar as someone who is independent, organized, inventive, and generous.
A person who is curious and a loves learning, who seems to always know what to say, who has an optimism that can overcome any difficult situation, and who seems to be able to master almost any skill.
Charismatic and Instinctual
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Edward Elgar is someone who handles stress better than most people, and who tends to have a powerful charisma and convictions.
They are also someone who is charismatic, compassionate, and understanding, and who is interested in expressing themselves through writing, public speaking, or teaching.
Logical and Reasonable
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Edward Elgar tends to be someone who is understanding, logical, and reasonable. Who can be intellectual and intuitive, speak the truth at any cost, be witty and sociable, and live life to its fullest.
Some of Edward Elgar's challenges
While Edward Elgar has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Edward Elgar can be Hypocritical, Self-centered, Hesitant, Narcissistic, Difficult, Perfectionist, and Domineering.
Hypocritical and Self-centered
One of Edward Elgar's key challenges is that they are someone who can be perceived as hypocritical and self-centered.
Edward Elgar must also exercise caution as they can be short-tempered and aggressive.
Domineering and Impatient
Edward Elgar is someone who can be demanding, egotistical, and controlling, can have a lack of judgment regarding personal finances, be argumentative and stubborn, and who can have a tendency to be withdrawn and spend time in self-imposed isolation.
Indecisive and Distracted
Finally, Edward Elgar also can have a hard time staying focused and can easily become restless.
