Edward Elgar

Etudes Caracteristiques Op. 24

Sir Edward Elgar was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral worksincluding the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for Violin and Cello, and two symphonies. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924. Composed in1892, Etudes Caracteristiques For Violin Op. 24 is dedicated to the preeminent Hungarian Jewish Violin virtuoso, and Elgar's former Violin teacher between 1877-1878, Adolphe Pollitzer. Pollitzerbelieved that, as a violinist, Elgar had the potential to be one of the leading soloists in the country, but Elgar himself, having heard leading virtuosi at London concerts, felt his own Violinplaying lacked a full enough tone, and he abandoned his ambitions to be a soloist.