Table of Contents

The Making of an Enigma 1857-1899
To the Greater Glory of God 1899-1909
The Symphonist
The Music of Wartime 1914-1920
The Last Years 1920-1934
Coda

About the Author

DIANA MCVEAGH is a Vice-President of the Elgar Society. Her interests range from Josquin to Birtwistle, but she writes mostly about English Romantics. She is the author of Elgar: His Life and Music (Dent, 1955), and the highly acclaimed Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music (Boydell, 2005 and 2010), and Elgar: The Music Maker (Boydell, 2007). She has contributed to the New Grove (1980, 2001) and the Dictionary of National Biography.

Reviews

The analysis...is observation, discovery of what this music is. You're led to it by feeling, and back to feeling it returns. That is the essential way of good music criticism, and this book is full of it. GRAMOPHONE (John Steane)In associating events of the times with almost all of Elgar's works, McVeagh wears her encyclopedic knowledge lightly: her prose is clean, charming, and clever, and her forays into theory/musicology are brief and to the point...A congenial companion for those who know little about Elgar; a worthy quick read for the knowledgeable. Highly recommended. CHOICEMcVeagh's critical method intertwines description and comment, and it serves her, and the reader, well. ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL (Julian Rushton)McVeagh's book, the concentrated essence of a lifetime's care for his music, has much to tell us about even the most familiar scores. INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW (John Warrack)McVeagh is also able to make it clear how much she loves and admires the music without making any extravagant claims on its behalf. It's hard to imagine a more sane approach...the insights...keep coming. BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE (Stephen Johnson)Effortlessly readable, fresh prose. Almost every page has some gem of illumination...An essential listener's companion. CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE (Julian Haylock)Diana McVeagh has produced another gem of a book...a hawk's eye view of Elgar, the subject matter richly distilled...its arrival cheered me immensely in the midst of what has been a rather bleak 150th anniversary year. THE OLDIE (Richard Osborne)McVeagh is indeed an intelligent guide here: her writing is both informed and immaculate. BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY NEWSOne thoroughly good result of this Elgar year...This is neither a biography nor a technical analysis, but McVeagh has hit on the perfect way of combining the best features of both...There is no superimposition of alien theories or of special interests, and there are no perverse reinterpretations. The last few pages deal with Elgar's posterity and end with a beautifully balanced study of Elgar's personality. TLS (Hugh Wood)