Symphony No. 1 in A-flat Major, Op. 55

Composer: ELGAR, Sir Edward
  • Elgar wrote his first symphony between 1907-08. The piece premiered in 1908 in Manchester with the Hallé Orchestra under the baton of Hans Richter (Richter was also the work’s dedicatee).1
    • Richter had been one of the composer’s fiercest advocates and said that Elgar’s symphony was “the greatest symphony of modern times, written by the greatest modern composer, and not just in this country.”2
  • In a letter, Elgar described his first symphony in the following way:

“There is no programme beyond a wide experience of human life with a great charity (love) and a massive hope in the future.”3

  • Symphony No. 1 was wildly successful and received an unprecedented number of performances (at least 80) within its first year of existence.4

Sources

  1. Edward Elgar, Symphony No. 1 in A-flat Major (London: Novello & Co., 1908).
  2. Ian Julier, Notes in accompanying booklet, Elgar: Symphony No. 1 / Falstaff performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Edward Elgar, Naxos 8.111256, 2009, compact disc.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Ibid.

Cut IDs

21085 10247 13078 19603