jmc's classics
It is just past June and graduation season. Edward Elgar (1857-1934) Wrote the Pomp and Circumstance March(Opus #39) which is played at graduations. It is probably one of the most recognizable Classical music pieces. Some colleges hold graduations in December or even late July or August. Especially if the have summer school. I remember 35 years ago at my high school graduation it was played. I don't remember if it was played at my college graduation. Even after you graduate from college, the colleges will still continue to ask for money! Graduation is a very big event in the life of a person. One thing that I remembered about m high school graduation is that the band played that piece of music-I did not know what it was at the time.
Elgar was British and was considered typically British. He however was influenced from Continental Europe. Unlike most of the other British composers. He was Roman Catholic in predominantly Protestant England. he was looked down on because of this and was considered lower class. He was knighted by the King of England. he married a woman nine years his senior. They had one daughter. He wrote two symphonies plus a third which was not published during his lifetime. He wrote a violin concerto, String quartet, String Serenade. and much other music. His most famous other work besides Pomp and Circumstance is his Cello Concerto (Opus #85). It is in four movements instead of the typically three movements of most concerti of any kind ("concerti" is plural for concerto instead of "concertos") The Pomp and Circumstance has also been featured in several films such as " A Clockwork Orange" which also featured Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Rossini's William Tell Overture. Elgar was also a strong British nationalist like many other British composers and writers of that day. he wrote music for King Edward vll's coronation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories |