On Edward Elgar and the Mysteries of Life

Note: This was originally written in April 2007 and has been updated.

Funny, how one small, seemingly insignificant event in the world (a concert – a broadcast – a decision), can result in a person gathering all of the pieces of himself that he had lost back to himself, or even discovering parts of himself of which he was unaware.

In June of this year I had the honor of performing Edward Elgar's Quintet for Piano and Strings, arguably one of the most important works in the piano quintet literature.
My introduction to the world of Edward Elgar came during the summer of 1988, the summer after my first year of undergraduate studies at the University of South Carolina. Having grown up listening to public radio I tuned in one day and heard, in the midst of regular programming, Edward Elgar's Introduction and Allegro. As many of us have had the experience of being mesmerized, I was on that summer day spellbound by Elgar's stunning orchestration and the use of the virtuoso string orchestra (this performance was with William Boughton and the English String Orchestra).

My interest grew to include "all things English" (Vaughan Williams, Holst, Elgar, Delius – it was during my freshman year that I discovered "The Lark Ascending", which I have played regularly), but as years passed I found myself continuously fascinated by Elgar's musical world. The Violin Concerto became a part of my life in 1989 when I heard a graduate student at the University of South Carolina perform it in recital. While did find that first performance somewhat lacking, five years later I heard a broadcast of the concerto as performed by Andres Cardenes and was again rendered speechless -this time by both the messenger (Cardenes) and the message.

During my first year of graduate school I had the honor of attending the dress rehearsal of my dear friend Zhang Zhang's graduate recital (in which she played the Elgar Concerto), and later played the Serenade for Strings , Enigma Variations, the Cello Concerto and Introduction and Allegro in orchestra concerts, holding a secret desire to one day perform the Violin Concerto in concert as soloist.

The decision to study the piece came in 1999 after a performance of Elgar's Symphony No. 1 with Donald Runnicles and the New World Symphony. Again, both audience members and musicians were hypnotized, quiet, thoughtful…on the walk back to the Plymouth Hotel I and two other violinists remained silent – when someone started to speak one of us said "No." It was understood: we should stay in this quiet place as long as we can. On that very day that I decided to tackle the concerto, and I was blessed afterwards to have the opportunity to work on it with Jorja Fleezanis, who showed me how to be a real musician, how to approach that work...The journey into Elgar led to reading both his letters and the many biographies, and listening to many great violinists and orchestras – reigniting my love of the recordings made by Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic – as well as a chance to hear the principal cellist of the London Symphony play the Cello Concerto at the Daytona Music Festival.

The journey itself was also incredibly healing for me – it is through his music that I have been able to open myself to a real emotional life, which is joy, sadness, anger, fear, and all of the mysteries that make us human.

Later that year, in preparation for a competition, I had the honor of performing the concerto in master classes, first for Stephanie Chase (life is circular, no?) and for Masuko Uchioda, both of whom were very helpful, and I laugh now – as I have grown older I find myself amazed and finally understand why, when people say "I'm playing the Elgar Violin Concerto", the response is usually, "Wow…." Elgar's music is an exploration of the human condition, of love, friendship, longing, sadness, struggle – the emotional journey that we have all taken on the planet. His music is equal to that of Strauss, Mahler, and Brahms: large forces, large expressive intervals, painstakingly detailed scores ("road maps", I like to call them), requiring both a virtuoso technique, great emotional sensitivity, musical intelligence and expressive instincts – almost emotional nakedness - from the performer (although Ms. Chase did say "impassioned, but under control" – hence the challenge).

Working on the Quintet for Piano and Strings has been both a joy and yes, a struggle…how to be expressive within the "confines" of structure, WHAT needs to be expressed and why…but this tour through the rapids has been incredibly meaningful and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Kim Diehnelt, not only for answering my email in November 2006 but also for her love of things "Elgarian" and the tremendous opportunity she has given, both to me and the city of Chicago.

With life also being circular, imagine my surprise upon finding out that Jorja Fleezanis will be performing the Elgar Violin Concerto with Sir Neville Marriner and the Minnesota Orchestra during the 2007-2008 season. Living far away from Minneapolis, I can only hope that I will be able to attend, to hear the woman with whom I learned the piece play it with one of the greatest orchestras in the country, led by one of my favorite conductors!