Symphony No. 2 (Elgar)
Sir Edward Elgar's Symphony No. 2 in E♭ major, Op. 63, was completed on 28 February 1911 and was premiered at the London Musical Festival at the Queen's Hall by the Queen's Hall Orchestra on 24 May 1911 with the composer conducting. The symphony, which Elgar called "the passionate pilgrimage of the soul", was his last; the composition of his Third Symphony, begun in 1933, was cut short by his death in 1934.
The dedication reads:
Dedicated to the memory of His late Majesty King Edward VII. This symphony, designed early in 1910 to be a loyal tribute, bears its present dedication with the gracious approval of His Majesty the King.The more personal nature of this work, however, is clear in a letter to friend and close correspondent Alice Stuart-Wortley, in which Elgar states:
I have written out my soul in the concerto, Symphony No. 2 and the Ode and you know it ... in these three works I have shewn myself.Read more about Symphony No. 2 (Elgar): Composition and Influences, Instrumentation, Extra-musical Considerations, Early Reception, Recordings
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—H.L. (Henry Lewis)