CD album cover. "Symphony and Imperial March". Edward Elgar. BBC Philharmonic. George Hurst.
Sir Edward Elgar's Symphony No. 1 in A♭ major, Op. 55 is one of his two completed symphonies. The first performance was given by the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Hans Richter in Manchester, England, on 3 December 1908. It was widely known that Elgar had been planning a symphony for more than ten years, and the announcement that he had finally completed it aroused enormous interest. The critical reception was enthusiastic, and the public response unprecedented. The symphony achieved what The Musical Times described as "immediate and phenomenal success", with a hundred performances in Britain, continental Europe and America within just over a year of its première. Imperial March is a piece for full orchestra written by the English composer Edward Elgar to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897, as his Op. 32. In 1896 the publisher Novello's requested that he write an 'Imperial March' for the occasion, as well as a cantata based on the story of St. George and the Dragon. The first performance of the march was at a Crystal Palace concert on 19 April 1897, conducted by August Manns. It was played by massed bands at the Crystal Palace a week later, at a Royal Garden Party on 28 June (the actual anniversary of the Queen's coronation), at a State Concert on 18 June and at the Albert Hall (by the Royal Artillery Band) on 24 October. The music created a great impression as popular music for the mood of the public at the time, and made his name widely known in London.
Size: 2968px × 3000px
Photo credit: © Stan Pritchard / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1, album, bbc, british, cd, composer, conductor, cover, edward, elgar, english, george, hurst, illustration, imperial, march, orchestra, philharmonic, sir, symphony
