Elgar's 150th Anniversary

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

Elgar And Academe

20080728

Elgar was appointed the first Peyton Professor of Music at Birmingham University in 1905 and in a series of lectures outlined, among other things, his view of the future for English Music. Julian Rushton, a former Professor of Music at the University of Leeds, takes this as his staring point to examine Elgar's relationship with the musical academic world, both during his lifetime and afterwards.

Former professor Julian Rushton examines Elgar's relationship with the academic world.

Elgar And Religion

20080729

Elgar's masterpiece The Dream of Gerontius was given a notoriously inadequate first performance, which may have undermined his Catholic faith. After Gerontius, he began work on a trilogy of oratorios based on the life of Christ and his Apostles, but completed only two of them, The Apostles and The Kingdom. Pianist and conductor Stephen Hough, himself a Catholic, wonders how deeply rooted Elgar's faith actually was.

Pianist and conductor Stephen Hough wonders how deeply rooted Elgar's Catholic faith was.

Elgar And The Establishment

20080730

Elgar was the son of a local Worcester shop-keeper, yet became a pillar of the establishment as Sir Edward Elgar of Broadheath, OM. David Cannadine, Professor of British History at the University of London's Institute of Historical Research, reflects on the images Elgar cultivated of himself and how far these are relevant or helpful today.

The son of a Worcester shopkeeper, Elgar became a pillar of the English establishment.

Elgar And Englishness

20080731

Ernest Newman described Elgar's music as expressive of 'the very soul of our race'. Nalini Ghuman, Professor of Music at Mills College California, argues that the critical obsession with identifying in Elgar's music an essential Englishness has served to confine the music within the nation's boundaries.

Professor of Music Nalini Ghuman argues against the obsession with Elgar's 'Englishness'.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Comments
01	Elgar And Academe	20080728	Elgar was appointed the first Peyton Professor of Music at Birmingham University in 1905 and in a series of lectures outlined, among other things, his view of the future for English Music. Julian Rushton, a former Professor of Music at the University of Leeds, takes this as his staring point to examine Elgar's relationship with the musical academic world, both during his lifetime and afterwards. Former professor Julian Rushton examines Elgar's relationship with the academic world.
02	Elgar And Religion	20080729	Elgar's masterpiece The Dream of Gerontius was given a notoriously inadequate first performance, which may have undermined his Catholic faith. After Gerontius, he began work on a trilogy of oratorios based on the life of Christ and his Apostles, but completed only two of them, The Apostles and The Kingdom. Pianist and conductor Stephen Hough, himself a Catholic, wonders how deeply rooted Elgar's faith actually was. Pianist and conductor Stephen Hough wonders how deeply rooted Elgar's Catholic faith was.
03	Elgar And The Establishment	20080730	Elgar was the son of a local Worcester shop-keeper, yet became a pillar of the establishment as Sir Edward Elgar of Broadheath, OM. David Cannadine, Professor of British History at the University of London's Institute of Historical Research, reflects on the images Elgar cultivated of himself and how far these are relevant or helpful today. The son of a Worcester shopkeeper, Elgar became a pillar of the English establishment.
04	Elgar And Englishness	20080731	Ernest Newman described Elgar's music as expressive of 'the very soul of our race'. Nalini Ghuman, Professor of Music at Mills College California, argues that the critical obsession with identifying in Elgar's music an essential Englishness has served to confine the music within the nation's boundaries. Professor of Music Nalini Ghuman argues against the obsession with Elgar's 'Englishness'.