About The Elgar Society

The sound of Elgar’s music has been with me since I was a child. The first concert my mother ever took me to had the Enigma Variations on the programme!

 

When I started all those years ago with the Hallé in Manchester, I had a strong feeling that we should aim to play his music better than any other orchestra. His depth of feeling, that goes so much deeper than ‘Pomp and Circumstances stance’,does not come out unless you probe it, dig in and find it. In embarking on such a journey one inevitably discovers shades and colours one had no idea could be there.

 

So it was an enormous pleasure to be asked to be the Society’s President. I love Elgar’s music and would do anything to help to bring it to more and more people.

– Mark Elder

About us

The Elgar Society exists to promote the appreciation of the music of Edward Elgar and an understanding of his life.

 Edward Elgar (1857–1934) is one of a limited number of great composers who were British. However, his greatness has not always been appreciated. After his death his popularity declined, leading to the formation of the Elgar Society in 1951 by a group of musicians and lovers of his music.  By and large, in Britain Elgar does now enjoy a high reputation and, in part, this is due to the work of the Elgar Society over many years.

 Since its formation, the Society has developed into one of the largest single composer societies in the UK.  From time to time, the Society mounts special events to celebrate the life, times and music of Elgar, but its main function is to promote an appreciation of the man and his works to the wider public through its support of live performance, recording and at regular meetings of its network of branches here in the UK and in both Germany and the US.  The Society can boast members as far afield as Japan, Europe and Australia. 

 Many of Elgar’s works are large in scale and expensive to perform. Through its Elgar in Performance sponsorship scheme, the Society encourages performances of these works and those which are less frequently performed. In conjunction with ElgarWorks, its publishing partner, the Society is able to provide both full scores and orchestral parts to performers at reduced cost.

 Members receive both the Elgar Society News and Journal three time each year, which between them contain a mix scholarly articles, reviews and items of more general interest.  Around the country, in Germany and in the USA there are branches of the Society which meet regularly to hear lectures and talks.

 Through its website, the Elgar Society is able to provide a wide range information about the composer, the world in which he lived and the music he composed. 

 As a result of pandemic restrictions, the Society has developed Elgar Online.  Through this new service, members are able to log in to live meetings, view earlier live events and view a series of pre-recorded video presentations.  It is hoped that these will be of interest to those who are unable to attend branch meetings and serve as a valuable archive of material for future generations.

 Each year the Society holds its AGM in Worcester on a day near to Elgar’s birthday (2 June) and coinciding with the annual Elgar Festival, which is supported by the Society. A chaplet is laid at the memorial to Elgar in the Cathedral.

 As a member of the Elgar Society, you become part of a community of lovers of British music and that of Elgar in particular, you will be supporting the wider appreciation of Elgar’s music and helping to ensure that it continues to be performed and recorded into the twenty first century.