Symphony No. 2 (Elgar) - Extra-musical Considerations

Extra-musical Considerations

There is much speculation as to who inspired Elgar to write this symphony. Officially dedicated to Edward VII, who died in May 1910, many scholars nonetheless believe his close friend Alice Stuart Wortley, with whom he was rumoured to have a romantic liaison, served as inspiration. Others tie the work to Elgar's grief over the death of his close friend Alfred E. Rodewald in 1903, as shortly thereafter, Elgar started sketching the Larghetto movement of the symphony.

Elgar told close friends that the symphony represented everything that had happened to him from April 1909 to February 1911, from the people he was with and the places he visited. During this time, Elgar visited Venice where he admired St. Mark's Basilica and its square, which, he later explained, inspired the opening of the Larghetto movement. Later in this period, he visited Tintagel in Cornwall in the southwest of England, spending time with Alice Stuart Wortley and her husband Charles. His friendship with Alice strengthened over the course of their many walks; Alice's daughter Clare later recalled one such stroll in the evening sun, the lyrical beauty of the countryside and the coastline engaging Elgar's interest. These events explain the words "Venice and Tintagel" inscribed at the bottom of Elgar's score.

Another known inspiration for the piece is the poem "Song" by Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the last poems published before his death in 1822:

Rarely, rarely, comest thou, Spirit of Delight!

Wherefore hast thou left me now

Many a day and night?

Many a weary night and day

'Tis since thou art fled away.

The first line of this first stanza is written on the score, at the bottom of Page 1. Elgar said, "To get near the mood of the symphony the whole of Shelley's poem may be read, but the music does not illustrate the whole of the poem, neither does the poem entirely elucidate the music."

Scholars speculate about the "Windflower" influence on this symphony, "Windflower" the affectionate nickname, inspired by Elgar's favourite buttercup flower, given to Alice Stuart Wortley by the composer. That Elgar and Alice were close friends is beyond question; the two kept in regular, frequent contact for several years. By virtue of Elgar's letters (the only side of their correspondence which survives), some suggest the composer harboured romantic feelings for the talented pianist and, furthermore, that his feelings may have been reciprocated. Concrete evidence of such a relationship, however, does not exist; Alice and Charles Stuart Wortley were well-known music lovers, and several members of both the Elgar and Stuart Wortley families maintained close ties through visits and letters. Alice spent much time with Elgar during his visit to Tintagel, and Elgar clearly admired her; however, whether he thought of her as anything more than a friend and confidante is unknown. She may have served as some form of muse for the composer as he drew upon his time in Tintagel whilst writing his second symphony.