Blossom Music Festival 2015 by Live Publishing

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THE CLEVEL AND ORCHESTR A

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BLOSSOM MUSIC FESTIVAL P R E S E N T E D

sunday July 26

ELGAR’S ENIGMA VARIATIONS The Cleveland Orchestra Jahja Ling, conductor Franklin Cohen, clarinet

INTRODUCING THE PROGRAM

Variations &Farewell

T H I S E V E N I N G ’ S C O N C E R T offers works by three composers, created

across the span of the 19th century. We begin in Vienna with irresistible music from the theater, step back for a German concerto, and then jump forward for a popular set of variations by a thoroughly British composer telling us — in music — all about his friends. At centerstage this evening are two artists whose long relationships with The Cleveland Orchestra together number seven decades of concertizing. Conductor Jahja Ling has been part of The Cleveland Orchestra family for more than thirty years, since first coming aboard as a conducting assistant in 1984. He returns this weekend and next in what is a nearly unbroken string of summers leading the ensemble. This evening’s concert also marks a unique turning point in The Cleveland Orchestra’s history, with the final concerto appearance of Franklin Cohen as Principal Clarinet. He retires from the Orchestra this summer, after 39 seasons sharing his artistry in that role with Northeast Ohio and the world. As a soloist, orchestral player, and educator, Frank has developed a lasting artistic impression, inspiring and mentoring future generations of musicians and delighting audience members with his incomparable playing. He has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestra more often than almost any other member in the ensemble’s history. And while he is retiring from The Cleveland Orchestra, his ongoing work — with ChamberFest Cleveland (co-founded with his daughter), in a variety of new endeavors, and through his many students — will extend his legacy forward for many years to come. For this final concerto appearance, Frank is playing Weber’s charming Second Clarinet Concerto, a piece Frank introduced to The Cleveland Orchestra’s repertoire more than thirty years ago. The evening ends with Edward Elgar’s great Enigma Variations, premiered in 1899. Here he wrote a series of loving musical portraits of his circle of close friends. The clarity of the depictions is still remarkably fresh more than a hundred years later — with the intensity of some of the relationships utterly discernible. At the same time, this music can also be enjoyed merely as good music, as variations in musical parlance and possibilities. —Eric Sellen

Introducing the Concert

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BLOSSOM MUSIC FESTIVAL

Sunday evening, July 26, 2015, at 7:00 p.m.

THE CLEVEL AND ORCHESTRA JA H JA L I N G , conductor

JOHANN STRAUSS JR.

Overture to Die Fledermaus

CARL MARIA VON WEBER

Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-at major

(1825-1899)

(1786-1826)

1. Allegro 2. Romanza: Andante 3. Alla polacca FRANKLIN COHEN, clarinet

INTERMISSION EDWARD ELGAR (1857-1934)

Enigma Variations, Opus 36

(Variations on an Original Theme) Theme: Enigma Andante Variation I: “C.A.E.” L’istesso tempo Variation II: “H.D.S.-P.” Allegro Variation III: “R.B.T.” Allegretto Variation IV: “W.M.B.” Allegro di molto Variation V: “R.P.A.” Moderato Variation VI: “Ysobel” Andantino Variation VII: “Troyte” Presto Variation VIII: “W.N.” Allegretto Variation IX: “Nimrod” Adagio Variation X: “Dorabella” Intermezzo: Allegretto Variation XI: “G.R.S.” Allegro di molto Variation XII: “B.G.N.” Andante Variation XIII: “***–Romanza” Moderato Variation XIV: “E.D.U.” Finale: Allegro Presto This concert is dedicated to Robert Conrad and his late wife, Jean, in recognition of their extraordinary generosity in support of The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2014-15 Annual Fund. With this concert, The Cleveland Orchestra gratefully honors

The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation for its generous support.

Media Partner: Northeast Ohio Media Group

The 2015 Blossom Music Festival is presented by The J.M. Smucker Company. The Cleveland Orchestra

Concert Program: July 26

Jahja Ling The upcoming 2015-16 season marks Jahja Ling’s twelfth year as music director of the San Diego Symphony. He also maintains a career as an internationally renowned guest conductor and holds a long collaborative relationship with The Cleveland Orchestra, where he was a member of the conducting staff from 1984 to 2005. Mr. Ling was resident conductor of the Orchestra (1985-2002) and served as Blossom Festival Director for six seasons (2000-05). He has returned each year as a guest conductor; concerts in 2014 marked the 30th anniversary of his first conducting The Cleveland Orchestra. He led a weekend of concerts at Severance Hall this past spring. Mr. Ling has conducted all of the major symphony orchestras of North America and many prominent ensembles across Europe and Asia. Acclaimed for his interpretation of works in the standard repertoire, he is also recognized for the breadth of contemporary music included in his programs. Recent and upcoming appearances include performances with the San Diego Symphony at Carnegie Hall and on tour in China, plus guest conducting engagements in Asia, North America, and Europe. Jahja Ling’s commitment to working with and developing young musicians is evidenced by his involvement as found-

ing music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (1986-93) and the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (1981-84), as well as work with the student orchestras of Curtis, Juilliard, SchleswigHolstein, Colburn, and Yale. Mr. Ling’s recordings include a range of works on labels including Telarc, Azica Records, and Continuum, featuring performances with the San Diego Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Taiwan Philharmonic, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (one of which was nominated for a Grammy Award). His performance of the world premiere of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Third Symphony with the New York Philharmonic is included in that ensemble’s American Celebrations collection. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, of Chinese descent, Jahja Ling began to play the piano at age 4 and studied at the Jakarta School of Music. At age 17, he won the Jakarta Piano Competition and was awarded a Rockefeller grant to attend the Juilliard School. He continued his education at Yale, studying orchestra conducting under Otto-Werner Mueller and earning a doctor of musical arts degree. After Yale, he was awarded a Leonard Bernstein Fellowship to study at Tanglewood, where Bernstein became the most important mentor of his musical life. In addition to his years in Cleveland, and as a member of the conducting staff of the San Francisco Symphony, Mr. Ling served as music director of the Florida Orchestra (1988-2003) and was artistic director of the Taiwan Philharmonic (1998-2001). As a pianist, he won a bronze medal at the 1977 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Israel.

Conductor

2015 Blossom Festival

Franklin Cohen Principal Clarinet Robert Marcellus Endowed Chair The Cleveland Orchestra

Principal Clarinet of The Cleveland Orchestra since 1976, Franklin Cohen has distinguished himself as one of the outstanding clarinetists of his generation. His playing has been described as “hypnotic, impeccable, brilliant . . . with a vocal quality that would be the envy of any singer.” He first gained widespread acclaim when, at the age of 22, he became the first clarinetist awarded first prize at the International Munich Competition (the other first prize that year went to soprano Jessye Norman). Since then, Mr. Cohen has enjoyed an illustrious career as soloist, recitalist, chamber artist, pedagogue, and orchestral musician. Franklin Cohen is retiring from The Cleveland Orchestra in the summer of 2015. After 39 seasons, Mr. Cohen will have had the longest tenure of any solo clarinetist in the Orchestra’s history. The title of Principal Clarinet Emeritus will be bestowed on Mr. Cohen upon retiring, the first Cleveland Orchestra musician officially recognized with this honor. He joined The Cleveland Orchestra at the invitation of Music Director Lorin Maazel. Cohen is one of the few musicians of his time to combine a world-class solo, chamber, and orchestral career. He is widely considered among the great musiThe Cleveland Orchestra

Soloist

cians of his generation. Acclaimed for the strength, passion, and beauty of his playing, he is one of the most frequent concerto soloists in the history of The Cleveland Orchestra, appearing as soloist at Severance Hall, Blossom Music Center, Carnegie Hall, and on tours throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe to critical acclaim. Over the span of Cohen’s career, he has been heard in many thousands of concerts and broadcasts. His commercial recording performances include a Grammy Award and much additional critical acclaim. He has earned glowing praise for his poignant musicality and technical mastery, and has performed with many of the great string quartets of the 20th century. Cohen has taught and performed at virtually all the major American music festivals and has served as department head at the Cleveland Institute of Music for 39 years. He has also been an honored juror at many of the most prestigious international music competitions. In demand internationally as both a performer and teacher, Cohen looks forward to an expanded career as soloist and collaborative artist, in addition to ongoing mentoring of the next generation of young musicians. Upcoming plans include work and performances in Asia, Italy, Scandinavia, France, South America, Canada, and throughout the United States. Cohen will continue as co-artistic director of ChamberFest Cleveland, which celebrated its fourth season this summer. He has also launched a new custommade clarinet mouthpiece company and has plans to conduct. He looks forward to traveling the world with friends and family. Additional information can be found at www.franklincohen.com.

Overture to Die Fledermaus [The Bat] composed 1874

Johann Jr.

STRAUSS born October 25, 1825 Vienna died June 3, 1899 Vienna

1 9 T H - C E N T U R Y V I E N N A was dominated by two forms of popular music — the operetta and the waltz. Both were much discussed in the city’s famous coffee shops, and their best tunes were written up for performance everywhere — at home, in the streets and parklands, as well as in theaters, ballrooms, and casinos. A great “Golden Age” of operetta (filled, of course, with waltzes) blossomed in the city beginning in the 1860s. Johann Strauss Jr., then at the height of his popularity, turned his attention to the theater as Vienna’s economy boomed throughout the next decade. The waltz had swept across Europe in the closing decades of the 18th century. The word itself came from the German verb walzen, which was originally not much more specific than the English word “dance.” Eventually, faster waltzing overtook the slower minuet in popularity, and the verb became a noun, first in English and then in German. In 1819, Carl Maria von Weber wrote a piano piece titled Invitation to the Dance. Its popularity, first as a piano piece and then as orchestrated by Berlioz, set the pattern for what quickly became the typical Viennese waltz — not one dance, but a string of dance tunes written together as a group, often alternating slower and faster sections, with the various tunes and sections repeated and developed . . . almost like a short symphony. The waltz carried forward on successive waves of renewed popularity throughout the 19th century, propelled by the artistry and showmanship of one particular family of composers, beginning with Johann Strauss Sr. (1804-1849). His touring orchestra, along with that of his even more famous son, Johann Jr., spread the waltz craze throughout Europe and even to American shores. Our evening begins with Strauss’s Overture to Die Fledermaus [“The Bat”], premiered in 1874. The operetta’s storyline of disguises, romantic trysts, and mistaken identities, plus a full-fledged party onstage — with, of course, a series of great waltzes and other melodies — have made it one of Strauss’s most popular works. The overture features some of its best tunes, all mixed together as a perfectly exciting prelude to much fun and merriment and musical gifts. —Eric Sellen © 2015

About the Music

2015 Blossom Festival

Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-at major, Opus 74 composed 1811

C A R L M A R I A V O N W E B E R was only 14 when his first op-

Carl Maria von

WEBER

born November 18, 1786 Eutin, Holstein (now part of Germany) died June 5, 1826 London

era, Das Waldmädchen [“The Girl of the Forest”] was produced by a traveling opera company. Nevertheless, it was a long way forward to the great opera houses of Berlin, Vienna, and London, and the great successes of his later operas Der Freischütz and Oberon. Weber spent many of his early years on the road, in search of employment and commissions. During a five-month sojourn in Munich, in 1811, he managed to attract the attention of King Maximilian I of Bavaria, who heard a performance of Weber’s brief Concertino for clarinet and was so impressed that he immediately commissioned the young composer to write two full-fledged concertos for the instrument. Weber happily obliged, and before long, the two concertos — in F minor and E-flat major, respectively — were performed to great acclaim in Munich. The soloist, Heinrich Bärmann, who had also played Weber’s earlier Concertino, was a close friend of Weber’s from Darmstadt, where the two had met just prior to Weber’s move to Munich. Bärmann was a member of the prestigious court orchestra in Munich, which was the direct descendant of the famous Mannheim orchestra that moved to Munich in the 1780s. “Since I composed the Concertino for Bärmann,” Weber wrote to his friend and namesake Gottfried Weber on April 30, 1811, “the whole orchestra has been the very devil about demand-

Did you know? Each retiring member of The Cleveland Orchestra receives a silver pin shaped like the music stands used at Severance Hall since the building’s opening. Upon his retirement this summer, Frank Cohen becomes the first Orchestra musician to receive the official designation of Principal Clarinet Emeritus, following 39 years of service to the Orchestra and the Northeast Ohio community.

The Cleveland Orchestra

About the Music

At a Glance Weber wrote his E-flat major concerto for clarinet in 1811, for the virtuoso Heinrich Bärmann, who gave the first performance on November 15, 1811. This concerto runs about 20 minutes in performance and is scored for an orchestra of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings, plus solo clarinet. The Cleveland Orchestra first performed this concerto at Blossom in July 1981, with Franklin Cohen as the soloist under Jesús López-Cobos’s direction. All subsequent performances — at Blossom in 1998 and 2011, and at Sevearnce Hall in the autumn of 2011 — have also featured Mr. Cohen as soloist, with conductors Jahja Ling (1998), Iván Fischer (2001), and James Feddeck (2011).

ing concertos from me . . . two Clarinet Concertos (of which one in F minor is almost ready), two large arias, a Cello Concerto for Legrand, a Bassoon Concerto. You see I’m not doing at all badly, and very probably I’ll be spending the summer here, where I’m earning so much that I’ve something left over after paying my keep. . . . Besides, the orchestra and everybody would like to see me appointed Kapellmeister.” The Munich plans didn’t quite work out the way Weber had hoped. The Kapellmeister appointment was not forthcoming (Weber did get a similar offer from Wiesbaden that year, which he turned down), and the Cello Concerto was never written. Weber left Munich in August 1811 to resume his wanderings. Upon crossing the Kingdom of Württemberg, he was briefly arrested and imprisoned, due to an earlier unfortunate incident when he had “borrowed” some of Duke Ludwig of Württemberg’s money without the latter’s permission. Yet he was soon released and allowed to continue his journey to Switzerland. Although it may have fallen short of Weber’s expectations, the five-month stay in Munich proved to be quite productive in the end, yielding two clarinet concertos, a bassoon concerto and several smaller works. Through his friendship with Bärmann, Weber developed a special relationship with the clarinet, for which he wrote three more compositions. In the two concertos, Weber strove to provide Bärmann with attractive virtuoso showpieces, while at the same time carrying on the classical Mozartian concerto tradition. (Weber never met Mozart, as he was only five years old when Mozart died. Yet they were related by marriage: Mozart’s wife, née Constanze Weber, was a cousin of Carl Maria’s.) The Second Concerto opens in a definite Mozartian vein, but the second melody takes a turn that is more characteristic of the early 19th century. When it enters after the orchestral introduction, the solo clarinet embroiders the two themes with fast runs and the large leaps that form such an important part of the instrument’s expressive vocabulary. The second movement, a gentle “Romance” in G minor, is sensitively orchestrated: its opening features two solo violas and cellos plucking their strings. The clarinet part has a certain vocal character to it, revealing his operatic ambitions. (Weber’s first great success at the theater, Der Freischütz, was still a full decade away at this point.) At the end of the movement, the clarinet “sings” a full-fledged operatic recitative, before returning to the melody of the romance one About the Music

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last time. The final movement, with the tempo marking “Alla Polacca,” is based on the polonaise, one of the era’s most popular dances. Weber used polonaise rhythm in many of his works, as did his contemporaries Beethoven and Schubert. In the E-flat major concerto, the polonaise melody serves as a recurrent rondo theme, with intervening episodes that are invariably brilliant and playful. There is, however, an unexpectedly somber moment when, at the end of a temporary modulation to C minor, the timpani remains alone for a brief, mysterious solo, relieved by the next melodious entrance of the soloist. The final flourish, like the entire concerto, had everything to please the King of Bavaria. No one else has ever had reason to complain, either. —Peter Laki © 2015

The Cleveland Orchestra 2 0 1 5 -1 6

S E AS O N

Music Study Groups Welcome and special thanks to our community partners who have graciously agreed to host a Cleveland Orchestra Music Study Group during the upcoming 2015-16 Season at Severance Hall: Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library Cuyahoga County Public Library Beachwood Branch Fairview Park Branch Orange Branch St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Cleveland Heights Welcome also and many thanks to our partners who generously support special services for persons with vision loss in Cleveland Orchestra Music Study Groups: Cleveland Sight Center The Robert Cull Family, who have endowed the Orchestra’s Alice H. Cull Memorial Fund Music Study Groups are led by Dr. Rose Breckenridge and explore current concert music performed by The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall through informal lectures and guided listening. Series options include location and length — fall, winter, and/or spring. For more information, please contact the Orchestra’s Education & Community Programs Department by calling 216-231-7355, or visit clevelandorchestra.com.

Blossom Festival 2015

About the Music

Enigma Variations, Opus 36 (Variations on an Original Theme) composed 1898-99

E L G A R ’ S Variations on an Original Theme is the work that —

Edward

ELGAR born June 2, 1857 Broadheath, England died February 23, 1934 Worcester, England

almost overnight — made the 42-year-old into a famous composer. He had, in fact, had some success the year before with his cantata Caractacus, performed at the Leeds Festival. But Elgar did not conquer the musical life of London until one of the great conductors of the time, Hans Richter, presented what later became known as the “Enigma” Variations at St. James’s Hall on June 19, 1899. At the premiere, the work was greeted as the greatest composition for large orchestra ever written by an Englishman. And, for more than a century now, audiences have delighted in what Elgar had written. They have been equally intrigued by what he withheld, namely that the work had a secret that he refused to divulge beyond some carefully worded “enigmatic” clues. The story of the “Enigma” Variations began one night late in 1898 when Elgar was improvising at the piano at home in Worcestershire. His wife, Alice, was struck by a particular melody and asked her husband what it was. Elgar replied: “Nothing — but something could be made of it.” As he continued to develop his short theme, Elgar started to toy with the idea of how it could be made to reflect the personalities of some of his friends. Out of this private little game grew what is arguably Elgar’s greatest masterpiece. On October 24, 1898, Elgar announced his new work in a letter to his close friend August Jaeger (who is depicted as “Nimrod” in Variation 9): “Since I’ve been back I have sketched a set of Variations (orkestry) on an original theme: the Variations have amused me because I’ve labelled ’em with the nicknames of my particular friends — you are Nimrod. That is to say I’ve written the variations each one to represent the mood of the ‘party’ — I’ve liked to imagine the ‘party’ writing the var; him (or her)self & have written what I think they wd. have written — if they were asses enough to compose — it’s a quaint idee & the result is amusing to those behind the scenes & won’t affect the hearer who “nose nuffin” — what think you?” With one exception, each of the fourteen variations that follow the theme is preceded by a heading that specifies the person behind the music. Although Elgar only wrote out monoAbout the Music

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grams for each in the score, he quickly enough admitted who was who — and at various times openly commented about each person’s musical portrait. The names of all but one of the movements had been identified publically soon after the premiere. At the premiere performance, the “anonymous” exception (Variation 13, or XIII) helped to reinforce the “enigmatic” nature of the overall work. Even more mysterious, however, were the implications of a statement Elgar made at the time of the premiere: “The Enigma itself I will not explain — its ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the apparent connection between the variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme ‘goes,’ but is not played — so the principal Theme never appears.” THE MUSIC

Before considering possible answers to the Enigma itself, let’s walk through the theme and variations themselves — and to Elgar’s “friends pictured within.” All the quoted words that follow here are by Elgar himself (unless indicated otherwise): The Theme (Andante, G minor, 4/4) consists of two ideas: an expressive string melody that is constantly interrupted by rests on the downbeat (and that fits the words “Edward Elgar” surprisingly well), and a second melody that is more continuous, and is built of parallel thirds played by strings and woodwinds. Variation 1. “C.A.E.” (L’istesso tempo [“the same tempo”] G minor, 4/4) is a portrait of Caroline Alice Elgar, the composer’s wife. “The variation is really a prolongation of the theme with what I wished to be romantic and delicate additions; those who know C.A.E will understand this reference to one whose life was a romantic and delicate inspiration.” The little motif played by oboes and bassoons that acts as a counterpoint of sorts to the main theme was the signal Elgar used to whistle to let Alice know that he was home. Variation 2. “H.D.S-P.” (Allegro, G minor, 3/8). Hew David Steuart-Powell was a pianist and Elgar’s chamber music partner. “His characteristic diatonic run over the keys is here humorously travestied in the semiquaver [sixteenth-note] passages; these should suggest a Toccata, but chromatic beyond H.D.S-P’s liking.” The violins and woodwind instruments play the humorous sixteenthnotes, while the main theme appears in the cellos and basses. Variation 3. “R.B.T.” (Allegretto, G major, 3/8). Richard Baxter Townshend, a writer and scholar who lived in Oxford, used Blossom Music Festival

About the Music

VARIATION I Elgar’s wife, Caroline Alice Elgar

VARIATION VII Arthur Troyte Griffith, an architect and close friend of Elgar’s

At a Glance Elgar composed his Variations on an Original Theme in 1898-99. The work was first performed on June 19, 1899, at St. James’s Hall in London under the direction of Hans Richter. Elgar subsequently revised the orchestration and added a coda; he led the first performance of this version in September 1899 in Worcester. The score, published later that year, is dedicated “to my friends pictured within.” The word “Enigma” appears over the theme in the original manuscript. The Enigma Variations were introduced to the United States in 1902 by Theodore Thomas and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The Enigma Variations run about 30 minutes in performance. Elgar scored the piece for 2 flutes (second doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle), organ (optional), and strings. The Cleveland Orchestra first performed the Enigma Variations in January 1934, under the direction of Artur Rodzinski. The most recent performances by the Orchestra were led by Nikolaj Znaider in February 2014.

to ride his tricycle around town with the bell constantly ringing. (He had a hearing problem.) He also participated in amateur theatrical performances, and the oboe solo in the variation is supposed to represent him as his voice occasionally cracked. In her book Memories of a Variation, Dora Penny (see variation 10), who later became Mrs. Richard Powell, wrote: “Elgar has got him with his funny voice and manner — and the tricycle! It is all there and is just a huge joke to anyone who knew him well.” Variation 4. “W.M.B.” (Allegro di molto, G minor, 3/4). William Meath Baker was “a country squire, gentleman and scholar. In the days of horses and carriages it was more difficult than in these days of petrol to arrange the carriages for the day to suit a large number of guests. This Variation was written after the host had, with a slip of paper in his hand, forcibly read out the arrangements for the day and hurriedly left the music-room with an inadvertent bang of the door.” This boisterous variation, lasting less than half a minute, is the shortest in the set. Variation 5. “R.P.A.” (Moderato, C minor, 12/8). Richard Penrose Arnold, son of the poet Matthew Arnold, was “a great lover of music which he played (on the piano-forte) in a self-taught manner, evading difficulties but suggesting in a mysterious way the real feeling. His serious conversation was continually broken up by whimsical and witty remarks.” According to Mrs. Powell, the staccato (short-note) figure in the woodwinds represents his characteristic laugh. Thus far, this is the longest and most elaborate of the variations. Variation 6. “Ysobel” (Andantino, C major, 3/2). Isabel Fitton was a viola player — hence the special treatment of the viola in this variation, both as a section and as a solo instrument. “The opening bar, a phrase made use of throughout the variation, is an ‘exercise’ for crossing the strings — a difficulty for beginners; on this is built a pensive, and for a moment, romantic movement.” Isabel was quite tall, a circumstance suggested by the wide leaps in the melody. Variation 7. “Troyte” (Presto, C major, 1/1 [i.e. a single beat per bar]). Arthur Troyte Griffith was an architect and a close friend of Elgar’s. “The uncouth rhythm of the drums and lower strings was really suggested by some maladroit essays to play the pianoforte; later the strong rhythm suggests the attempts of the instructor (E.E.) to make something like order out of chaos, and the final despairing ‘slam’ records that the effort proved to be in vain.” The “uncouth rhythm” is, in fact, a combination of triple meter About the Music

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in the bass with duple in the upper voices. Variation 8. “W.N.” (Allegretto, G major, 6/8). The initials stand for Winifred Norbury, but the variation was inspired more by the 18th-century house where this lady (co-secretary of the Worcestershire Philharmonic Society) lived — in the words of musicologist Julian Rushton, the “epitome of an ideal civilisation in a rural environment.” The theme is played by the clarinets in gentle parallel sixths. Variation 9. “Nimrod” (Adagio, E-flat major, 3/4). This is the most famous variation in the set, often performed separately in England as a memorial to deceased celebrities. “Nimrod” was August Jaeger, a German-born musician and Elgar’s closest friend. He worked for Novello, the publisher of Elgar’s music, and was the recipient of the composer’s above-quoted letter announcing the Variations as a work in progress. (Jäger or Jaeger means “hunter” in German, and Nimrod is the “mighty hunter” mentioned in Genesis 10:9.) Here, Elgar took the rests out of the original theme and created a hymn-like, soaring melody with a certain Beethovenian quality. Elgar and Jaeger shared a special love for Beethoven’s slow movements. Variation 10. “Dorabella” (Intermezzo: Allegretto, G major, 3/4). Dora Penny was a young woman in her early twenties, to whom Elgar gave an affectionate nickname taken from Mozart’s opera Così fan tutte. She later recollected the day he played through the entire work for her: “My mind was in such a whirl of pleasure, pride and almost shame that he should have written anything so lovely about me.” This movement is less a “variation” strictly speaking than a lyrical intermezzo; its melody is only very distantly related to the original theme. Variation 11. “G.R.S.” (Allegro di molto, G minor, 2/2). George Robertson Sinclair was organist of Hereford Cathedral. “The first few bars were suggested by his great bulldog Dan (a wellknown character) falling down the steep bank into the River Wye (bar 1); his paddling up stream to find a landing place (bars 2 and 3); and his rejoicing bark on landing (second half of bar 5). G.R.S. said ‘set that to music.’ I did; here it is.” Variation 12. “B.G.N.” (Andante, G minor, 4/4). Basil Nevinson was a cellist who, with Steuart-Powell (variation 2), often played trios with Elgar, a violinist. This is why in this variation the melody is entrusted to a solo cello, in “tribute to a very dear friend whose scientific and artistic attainments, and the wholehearted way they were put at the disposal of his friends, particularly endeared Blossom Music Festival

About the Music

VARIATION IX Elgar’s friend August Jaeger

VARIATION X Dora Penny, who Elgar jokingly called Dorabella

Elgar’s “Enigma” was greeted as the greatest composition for large orchestra ever written by an Englishman. The work has delighted for more than a century, and the larger enigma that Elgar only hinted lies within it remains unsolved.

him to the writer.” Variation 13. “***” (Romanza: Moderato, G major, 4/4). The identity of the person behind the asterisks is the first, and smaller, enigma in Elgar’s work. Elgar himself only said that the “asterisks take the place of the name of a lady who was, at the time of composition, on a sea voyage. The drums suggest the distant throb of the engines of a liner . . .” Because some early manuscript sketches include the initials L.M.L., it is often assumed to refer to Lady Mary Lygon, an acquaintance of Elgar’s who was a member of the aristocracy, but several people who knew Elgar intimated that the variation had to do instead with a youthful “romanza” of the composer’s. The music is lyrical and gentle and, like variation 10, another female portrait, is only tenuously related to the theme, if at all. It contains a quote from Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture, played by the first clarinet. Variation 14. “E.D.U.” (Finale: Allegro Presto, G major, 4/4). “Edu” was the nickname Alice Elgar had given to her husband, who disguised it as a set of initials to camouflage the fact that the last variation was a self-portrait. The theme is turned here into a march with a sharp rhythmic profile. There are two slower, lyrical episodes, after which the work ends with a grandiose climax. I N T H E C E N T U R Y A N D M O R E since its first performance, many attempts have been made to elucidate Elgar’s words about what “large theme” may lie behind (or underneath or within) his “Enigma” Variations. Musical sleuths have tried to match the melodic outlines of different tunes with Elgar’s theme. Among those that have been proposed are “Auld lang Syne” (a suggestion Elgar himself rejected), the slow movement of Beethoven’s “Pathétique” Sonata, various earlier works by Elgar himself, and, more recently, the slow movement of Mozart’s “Prague” Symphony. Others, knowing of Elgar’s interest in games and puzzles in general, have searched for answers in ciphers, equating letters with musical notes after the model of Bach’s use of his own name spelled in notes. Others still have thought that the “larger theme” is not a musical one but some larger religious or philosophical issue. Finally, there are those who opine that the whole thing is a joke or a “leg-pull,” to quote an expression used by the famous

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musicologist and critic Ernest Newman. William Reed, who was probably as close to Elgar as anyone, wrote: “He was himself the enigma.” Julian Rushton, author of the Cambridge Musical Handbook about Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations, has elaborated on this by saying that “the theme . . . may represent Elgar as he saw himself.” In any case, it is certain that the enigma will never be solved, as no suggested solution is likely to be proven conclusively now, so many years after the composer’s death. And this is probably a good thing, for any definitive answer would mean the end of a great mystery — which can too often be a letdown. One almost wishes Elgar hadn’t said anything about a “larger theme,” especially if he wasn’t ever going to reveal what it was. But this very ambivalence was central to his personality — he was at the same time an extroverted Romantic, eager to express his innermost feelings, and a reserved, very private man who would not allow anyone to know him completely. (The “Enigma” Variations were not the only time he made personal allusions whose full meaning he kept to himself — a similar mystery lies embedded in the music for his Violin Concerto.) For Elgar, communication and secrecy, confession and reticence are inseparable, and it is in part this unique co-existence of opposites that makes the “Enigma” Variations unusual and uniquely pleasurable. —Peter Laki © 2015

VARIATION XIV Elgar wrote a musical self-portrait in the last variation

Peter Laki is a visiting associate professor at Bard College and a frequent lecturer and writer on music.

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Blossom Music Festival

About the Music

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BLOSSOM MUSIC FESTIVAL

The Cleveland Orchestra gratefully acknowledges these generous organizations, whose support is recognized in connection with the Blossom Music Festival. BakerHostetler The William Bingham Foundation Blossom Women’s Committee The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation Mary and Dr. George L. Demetros Charitable Trust Eaton Corporation FirstEnergy Foundation Forest City Enterprises, Inc. Frantz Ward LLP GAR Foundation Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. NACCO Industries, Inc. KeyBank The Lehner Family Foundation Littler Mendelson, P.C. The Lubrizol Corporation Medical Mutual of Ohio The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation Olympic Steel, Inc. M.G. O’Neil Foundation PNC Bank The Charles E. and Mabel M. Ritchie Memorial Foundation James G. Robertson Fund of Akron Community Foundation The Sisler McFawn Foundation Lloyd L. and Louise K. Smith Memorial Foundation The J.M. Smucker Company Timken Foundation of Canton The Welty Family Foundation