Elgar - 2nd Symphony (piano solo)

Edward Elgar - 2nd Symphony (piano solo) with score Arranged and performed by Iain Farrington Published by Aria Editions: https://www.ariaeditions.org/store/c1... http://www.iainfarrington.com Recorded 3rd and 4th August 2010 in Potton Hall, Suffolk for the Dutton Epoch label 1. Allegro vivace e nobilmente 2. Larghetto 3. Rondo 4. Moderato e maestoso Edward Elgar (1857-1934) composed his Second Symphony in 1910-1911. After the outstanding success of Elgar’s First Symphony in 1908, the composer was at the peak of his popularity, with critical success and growing international acclaim. Full of confidence, the Second Symphony soon followed, premiered in 1911. It was dedicated to the memory of King Edward VII who had died in May 1910, and to whom the symphony was originally planned as a tribute. Those expecting the ringing, positive outcome of the First Symphony were disappointed. Although relatively well received, the Symphony lacked the success of earlier works, Elgar complaining that the audience were like “stuffed pigs.” The world was quickly changing and Elgar’s score reflects the tensions of the era. It was not until after the chaos of the First World War that the questioning nature of the Symphony was fully appreciated. The work is possibly his richest and most complex, both musically and emotionally, encompassing the heights of joy to the depths of despair. A quote from a poem by Shelley sets the mood: "Rarely, rarely comest thou Spirit of Delight!" The first movement opens with boundless optimism, delight filling every bar. Soon though, the mood darkens, becoming troubled, even violent. At the centre of the movement, the music takes on a dense, magical quality, with what Elgar described as "a sort of malign influence wandering through the summer night in the garden." This simmering tension unsettles the music further, and a huge effort is required to bring the movement back to an aura of optimism. There is no mistaking the slow tread of a funeral march in the tragic second movement. This emotionally exhausting music mourns not only a dead King, but almost certainly the loss of one of Elgar’s closest friends and supporters, the Liverpool businessman and conductor Alfred Rodewald. Elgar had composed some of the movement soon after Rodewald’s death some years earlier. One of Elgar’s most avant-garde creations, the third movement is full of harmonic and rhythmic daring, with a manic, crazed quality. The “malign influence” music from the first movement returns with ear-splitting violence, and the listener briefly looks into the abyss. Elgar mentioned Tennyson’s poem Maude as an influence, which evokes a terrifying scene of being buried alive: And the hoofs of the horses beat, beat, The hoofs of the horses beat, Beat into my scalp and my brain... The Finale begins with astonishing nonchalance, apparently ignorant of the preceding nightmare. The music feels confident, proud, looking back over golden years. Soon though, doubts creep in and the mood darkens. After recovering, with the symphony seemingly heading for triumph, a slow fade brings the work to a close, glowing and nostalgic. At the end of the score, Elgar marked "Venice – Tintagel", two places which he had visited while composing the work, and which may have held emotional significance for him. Elgar regularly played the piano to his friends, and often used it for improvising, both for pleasure and during composition. His 'orchestral' pianistic style can be heard in his recording of Five Piano Improvisations. This arrangement aims to evoke something of Elgar's own piano style, full of richness and colour.