Elgar's Cello Concerto was his last major work, and his inspiration was undermined by his wife Alice's death shortly after its premiere.
Composer Biography
Imogen Holst, daughter of Gustav Holst, was a significant musical figure as a writer, educator, and choral conductor, but her own composing often took a back seat to her work with her father and Benjamin Britten.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Elgar's Cello Concerto is described as a 'poem of regret' and a 'searching elegy' to a world swept away by the horrors of the Great War.
Composer Biography
Gustav Holst taught himself Sanskrit to set parts of the sacred Hindu scripture, the Rig Veda, which influenced his 1911 work, Invocation.
Composition History
The premiere of Elgar's Cello Concerto in 1919 was a disaster, largely due to the conductor Albert Coates, who poached most of Elgar's rehearsal time.
Critical Reception
Walton's Cello Concerto received a cool reception at its 1957 premiere, as its lyrical style was considered unfashionable compared to the expected 'darkness and anger of the modern nuclear world'.
Composition History
Walton's Cello Concerto was commissioned by the great Russian cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, who became a close friend and source of encouragement for the composer.
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