Edward William Elgar was born on June 2nd, 1857, in Lower Broadheath, near Worcester, into a countryside idyll that would dominate his creativity for the rest of his life.1)
Elgar worked as a musical odd-jobber, frequently accompanying local organizations and choirs and dabbling in composition.2)
Elgar was very fond of writing letters to his loved ones. His collected correspondence has been the topic of considerable literary and musical scholarly debate, whether it was dewy-eyed love letters to his wife and other muses or merely funny asides to colleagues.3)
While in Leipzig, Elgar paid a visit to his acquaintance Helen Weaver, with whom he married in 1883.4)
Elgar was knighted by King Edward VII in 1904, finally receiving the respect that his wife Alice felt he deserved.5)
One of Elgar's most well-known pieces, the 'Enigma' Variations from 1899, is also one of his most enigmatic. Each of the fourteen variants has a cryptic subtitle relating to a specific person (or animal) in Elgar's life, such as his wife, publisher, and numerous acquaintances and pupils.6)
Caroline Alice Roberts, Elgar's future wife, first met him in 1886. She was well-bred and rich, and she was to become a highly influential force behind Elgar's inventiveness. He dedicated numerous compositions to her, including Salut d'Amour, which he wrote as a wedding gift.7)
Sir Edward Elgar was a skilled amateur chemist in addition to being the composer of some of the most renowned English music of all time. He would designed the Elgar Sulphuretted Hydrogen Apparatus.8)
The twelfth variation of the 'Enigma' Variations is said to portray George Sinclair's (the organist at Hereford Cathedral at the time) bulldog, Dan, after it fell into the River Wye.9)
Until 2010, you might expect to see Edward Elgar's moustachioed face on a typical £20 note in the United Kingdom, but he has since been replaced with the Scottish philosopher Adam Smith.10)
Elgar had a little-documented excursion to South America in 1923, where he cruised the Amazon River.11)
Elgar's cello concerto was not extensively performed until Jacqueline Du Pré acquired it in 1965. Beatrice Harrison recorded the first recording in 1920, with Elgar conducting.12)
Elgar was one of the first composers to embrace recorded music wholeheartedly. He frequently collaborated with HMV to create premiere recordings of his compositions, including the 'Enigma' Variations, the Cello Concerto, and Falstaff.13)
Elgar received a brand new Royal Sunbeam bicycle in 1900, which he called 'Mr Phoebus'. He appeared to be an avid biker on his beloved Malvern hills.14)