Romance for violin (Elgar)

The Romance in E minor for violin and piano is a work by Edward Elgar composed in 1878 or 1879 [1] and published in 1885 as his Opus 1.

The Romance was dedicated to Oswin Grainger, an older friend of Elgar's from a Worcester orchestra they played in, who was an amateur musician and grocer by trade.[2] It was published by Schott's in 1885 and the first performance was on 20 October, in Worcester.[3]

Structure

Andante, 12/8, E minor

Following a four-bar introduction by the piano, the violin introduces the subject.

The same piano introduction then leads to the second subject in G minor, played by the violin.

The music reaches two passionate climaxes before the first theme reappears. Double stops in the violin lead to the quiet conclusion of the work.

It is a short piece, with a performance time of approximately five minutes.

Recordings

Notes

  1. ^ Kennedy, p. 12
  2. ^ Moore, p. 72-73
  3. ^ McVeagh, p. 13

References

  • Kennedy, Michael (1987). Portrait of Elgar (Third ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-284017-7.
  • McVeagh, Diana M. (1955). Edward Elgar: His Life and Music. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
  • Moore, Jerrold N. (1984). Edward Elgar: a Creative Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-315447-1.
  • Score, Elgar: Romance pour Violon, Schott & Co., London, ca. 1885