Elgar gets short-changed

Synopsis

On this day in 1919, Edward Elgar conducted the London Symphony in the premiere performance of his new Cello Concerto, with Felix Salmond as soloist.

What should have been a joyous occasion turned out to be a frustrating one — there simply wasn’t enough time to rehearse properly, and the premiere was a near-fiasco. Puzzled, the less-than-full house in Queen’s Hall gave Elgar a polite ovation but left shaking their heads.

Mrs. Elgar blamed the conductor, Albert Coates, who hogged all the orchestra’s rehearsal time working over the two pieces he was to conduct on the same program as Elgar’s new concerto, for which Coates would hand off the baton to Elgar. In her diary for October 26, she wrote, “Poor Felix Salmond in a state of suspense and nerves — wretched hurried rehearsal — an insult to Elgar from that brutal, selfish, ill-mannered bounder, Coates.”

After the botched premiere of the new concerto, critic Ernest Newman reported, “Never, in all probability, has so great an orchestra made so lamentable a public exhibition of itself.”

Despite this rough beginning, Elgar’s Cello Concerto has gone on to become one of the composer’s best-loved works worldwide, and has proven to be a favorite with the great cellists of our time, including British cellist Jacqueline du Pré.

Music Played in Today's Program

Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Cello Concerto; Jacqueline du Pré, cello; Philadephia Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, conductor; Sony 60789