Famous works · Late Romantic
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85
Premiered 27 October 1919, London
An elegy written after the First World War, Elgar's last major work.
The story behind it
Elgar wrote it at his Sussex cottage, Brinkwells, where he could reportedly hear the guns in France.
The premiere was badly under-rehearsed and failed. Jacqueline du Pré's 1965 recording made it famous.
His wife Alice died months after the premiere, and he wrote little major music afterwards.
What to listen for
- The cello's opening chords, like a cry.
- The brief, aching Adagio.