Elgar's Enigma Variations

The BBC Philharmonic perform one of the most well-known and much-loved pieces in the British classical music canon, Sir Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, filmed at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall.

Composed as a musical portrait of some of his friends, his wife and even himself, this work is packed full of musical riddles. Elgar loved codes and ciphers and mischievously hid one within this great piece – but its exact nature has yet to be conclusively solved. This masterpiece features the Nimrod Variation, which commands an enduring appeal in its own right.

As an accompaniment, Six Monologues from Everyman, a song cycle by Swiss composer Frank Martin, is brought to the concert platform by world-renowned baritone Roderick Williams. There is also the mesmerising anthem Swansong by Arvo Pärt, composed to mark the 200th anniversary of minister, theologian and poet Cardinal Newman’s birth; and to complete the programme, a world premiere of Geoffrey Gordon’s bassoon concerto Anima Mia, which was inspired by and performed by the BBC Philharmonic’s very own principal bassoon, Roberto Giaccaglia.