Evening Masterwork: Elgar’s Cello Concerto

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Cello Concerto in e-minor, Op. 85, by Edward Elgar

Evening Masterwork for August 22, 2020 – 7:00 PM on Classical WSMR 89.1 and 103.9

In many ways, Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto is a reaction to the First World War. He composed it in 1919, and it embodies a realization that life in Europe would never be the same. Elgar composed almost nothing during the war. But then, from August 1918 to August 1919, he poured his feelings into four brand new compositions. The final one, his Cello Concerto, is the composer’s sadness and longing for a lost world. We’ll hear it tonight at 7, our Evening Masterwork, on Classical WSMR 89. 1 and 103.9.