# Listening to Elgar, Episode Five



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Probably written a year or so after "Reminiscences", and dedicated to the same Oswin Grainger, a local friend (and grocer), the* "Romance for Violin with Piano Accompaniment"* is, as they say, a horse of a different color. This piece later saw publication as Elgar's *Opus 1*. It is a much more impressive work than any I have reviewed so far - very dramatic and very sure-sounding.

I'm hard-pressed to find anything "Elgarian" about it (let alone even English). My wife, who was as impressed as I was with the piece, said that it sounded Russian to her. I would have said Hungarian or even "Gypsy" music is what came to my mind. There is one part, though, where I think I catch a glimpse of the familiar Elgar: About nineteen measures in is a part marked "poco piu mosso" (I was able to find a score to follow along with this time) with four consecutive dotted half notes that rise from D to E to D (an octave higher), and then fall to B. I could be wrong, but that little phrase seems a bit Elgarian to me.

My favorite moment in the piece is at the next "poco pio mosso" (about half way through) where the piano gives little imitations of the violin part. The "fuoco" part as we approach the climax is exciting. And the octave and double-stopping in the last ten bars make for an impressive display of technique for the soloist.

To sum up - I absolutely love this work. It is a very fitting Opus 1 for a soon-to-be great composer.


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