Richard Strauss’s waltzing nostalgia evokes the mystery of love. The enduring popularity of Elgar’s Enigma Variations proves we all love a mystery.
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Lovers young and old are caught up in the glamorous turmoil of Der Rosenkavalier – even without the singing, Strauss’s music gives voice to the waltzing nostalgia of times past and love surrendered.
Love is the theme for Sibelius, too, as he finds inspiration in the ancient sagas and ballads of his Finnish roots. One of these, Rakastava, began life as a choral piece before Sibelius reworked its tender, yearning narrative for string orchestra.
Elgar’s Enigma Variations has an equally melancholy and nostalgic starting point. Its theme is notorious for its unsolvable “enigma” – proving Elgar was a tease, if nothing else – but the variations are distinctive above all for the loving affection that the composer brings to his musical portraits of his beloved friends.
R STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier: Suite
SIBELIUS Rakastava (The Lover)
ELGAR Enigma Variations
Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor
AUDIO PLAYER LISTING
Track 1 – R STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier: Suite
Vienna Philharmonic conducted by André Previn
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 437 7902
Track 2 – SIBELIUS Rakastava Suite
Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Neville Marriner
DECCA 466 9052
Tracks 3 and 4 – ELGAR Enigma Variations
Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta
DECCA 450 0212
Audio kindly supplied by Universal Music
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Strauss
Elgar