Half Six Fix: Enigma Variations
Sir Antonio Pappano
Wednesday 10 June 2026, 6.30pm
Edward Elgar
Born: Lower Broadheath, 1857
Died: Worcester, 1934
Edward Elgar rose from humble beginnings (his father was a piano tuner and organist) to a place of high social standing: he was knighted in 1904, awarded the Order of Merit (1911) and became Master of the King’s Music (1924). Born near Worcester, he failed initially to establish himself in London, though his reputation grew steadily during the 1890s. The ‘Enigma’ Variations (1899) first brought him to national attention.
Elgar developed a relationship with the London Symphony Orchestra early on in the Orchestra's history, conducting the LSO on national tours and becoming Chief Conductor in 1911–12. He waited until his 50s to produce his First Symphony, the first of his large-scale orchestral works. The death of his wife, Alice, in 1920 stunted his will to compose, though in 1932 the BBC commissioned his Third Symphony. This remained incomplete at the composer’s death, but his sketches were elaborated by the British composer Anthony Payne and the result was first performed in 1998.
Although Elgar drew inspiration from German composers during the early years of his career, he led the English musical renaissance of the 20th century, becoming synonymous with ceremonial and occasional music. A prime example of this was Land of Hope and Glory – the kind of tune, Elgar said, that ‘came once in a lifetime’. Except that two years earlier he had already created the quintessentially English and overwhelmingly moving 'Nimrod' from the ‘Enigma’ Variations.
Variations on an Original Theme Op 36, ‘Enigma’
Edward Elgar
Sir Antonio Pappano conductor and presenter
London Symphony Orchestra
✒️1899 | ⏰ 60 minutes
What is the story?
One day in October 1898, Elgar returned home at the end of a hard day’s violin teaching. After dinner, he lit a cigar and began doodling on the piano. Soon his wife, Alice, noticed a tune and asked him to play it again. ‘Eh! Tune, what tune!’, Elgar asked. When he started up again Alice interrupted, ‘That tune … What is that?’ ‘Nothing’, he replied, ‘but something might be made of it’.
Elgar started to have fun, morphing the tune into sketches of various friends. The result was a set of 14 variations on the theme, including portraits of his wife, Alice, his friend Dora Penny, his publisher A J Jaeger (nicknamed ‘Nimrod’, the title of the most famous variation) and ending with himself (labelled ‘EDU’ after Alice’s name for him, ‘Edoo’).
What makes it so special?
The ‘Enigma’ Variations is an imaginary gathering of what Elgar called ‘my friends pictured within’, but where does the ‘Enigma’ of the title come from? In the programme for the first performance in June 1899, Elgar said only: ‘The Enigma I will not explain – its ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed’. He also revealed, ‘through and over the whole set another and larger theme ‘goes’ but is not played’. We’ll likely never solve the puzzle, but experts and enthusiasts have come up with all sorts of solutions for the secret ‘larger theme’ – ranging from Auld Lang Syne (which carries the idea of friendship) to the National Anthem. Known for his fondness of word games, conundrums and riddles, it may be that Elgar has outwitted us all.
Regardless, the ‘Enigma’ Variations is the piece that first won him national acclaim and, notably, the London Symphony Orchestra performed the work at its inaugural concert on 9 June 1904.
What’s the music like?
After the hesitant, melancholy opening theme comes Variation I (‘CAE’), an affectionate portrait of Elgar’s wife. Variation II (‘HDS-P’) represents Hew David Steuart-Powell, with whom Elgar played chamber music. Variation III (‘RBT’) is Richard Baxter Townshend, whose amateur dramatic portrayal of an old man Elgar remembered. Next comes Variation IV ('WMB'), which was ‘very energetic and downright’, Dora Penny thought when hearing Elgar play this variation to her. With the theme now in the cellos and basses, Variation V (‘RPA’) depicts a friend from Worcester whose serious conversation was often interrupted by his laugh, captured in the light-hearted winds. ‘Ysobel’, Variation VI, was Isabel Fitton, a viola pupil of Elgar’s (hence the tune beginning in the violas). The boisterous ‘Troyte’, Variation VII, bursts in next. Troyte Griffith was an architect, and an untameable piano pupil of Elgar. Variation VIII (‘WN’) is a portrait of Winifred Norbury’s elegant 18th-century house, its lightness melting into ‘Nimrod’, Variation IX, the name referring to Elgar's close musical confidant, August Jaeger. ‘Dorabella’ (Dora Penny), Variation X, flutters delicately. Dora reported after hearing her variation that ‘my mind was in such a whirl of pleasure [and] pride’. Variation XI (‘GRS’) relates less to the organist George Robertson Sinclair than to his bulldog, setting an incident with the dog to music. Variation XII (‘BGN’) opens with the cello, the instrument of its namesake, Basil G Nevinson. According to Elgar, Variation XIII (‘***’) is about ‘a lady who was, at the time, on a sea voyage’; the ‘lady’ is now known to be Lady Mary Lygon. Elgar himself comes last in a ‘bold and vigorous’ Variation XIV (‘EDU’), according to the composer himself, sporting a newfound confidence.
Keep Listening
Delve deeper into the music featured in our Half Six Fix series, and find related music recommendations, with our Half Six Fix playlist.
© Frances Marshall
© Frances Marshall
Sir Antonio Pappano
conductor and presenter
After 22 years as Music Director of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Sir Antonio Pappano succeeded Sir Simon Rattle at the
LSO, becoming Chief Conductor in 2024. He was born just 20 miles away, in Epping and moved to the US aged 13 but now lives in London. He has held lead positions with the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels (1992–2002) and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome (2005–23).
Pappano is in demand as a conductor at the highest international level, including with the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Metropolitan Opera, New York,
the State Operas of Vienna and Berlin and the Teatro alla Scala.
A natural communicator about music, he has presented programmes for BBC TV. He was knighted in 2012 and in 2024 was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, having conducted at the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
The London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra believes that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere – from orchestral fans in the concert hall to first-time listeners all over the world.
The LSO was established in 1904 as one of the first orchestras shaped by its musicians. Since then, generations of remarkable talents have built the LSO's reputation for quality, daring, ambition and a commitment to sharing the joy of music with everyone. Today, the LSO is ranked among the world’s top orchestras, reaching tens of thousands of people in London and on stages around the world, and millions more through streaming, downloads, radio, film and television.
As Resident Orchestra at the Barbican since the Centre opened in 1982, the LSO performs some 70 concerts there every year with its family of artists: Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda and Associate Artists Barbara Hannigan and André J Thomas. The LSO has major artistic residencies in Paris, Tokyo and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and tours regularly in Asia and the US.
Through LSO Discovery, the LSO’s learning and community programme, 60,000 people each year experience the transformative power of music, with many more taking part in LSO Discovery’s work on tour and online. The Orchestra’s musicians are at the heart of this unique programme, leading workshops, mentoring bright young talent, working with emerging composers, visiting children’s hospitals, performing at free concerts for the local community and using music to support neurodiverse adults. Concerts for schools and families introduce children to music and the instruments of the Orchestra, with an ever-growing range of digital resources and training programmes supporting teachers in the classroom.
The home of much of this work is LSO St Luke’s, the LSO's venue on Old Street. In the autumn of 2025, following a programme of works and upgrades, the LSO opened up the venue’s unique facilities to more people than ever before, with new state-of-the-art recording facilities and community spaces.
The LSO’s record label LSO Live is a leader among orchestra owned labels, bringing to life the excitement of a live performance. The catalogue of over 200 acclaimed recordings reflects the artistic priorities of the Orchestra – from popular new releases, such as Janáček’s Katya Kabanova with Sir Simon Rattle, to favourites like Vaughan Williams’ symphonies with Sir Antonio Pappano and Verdi’s Requiem with Gianandrea Noseda.
The LSO has been prolific in the studio since the infancy of orchestral recording, making more recordings than any other orchestra – over 2,500 projects to date – across film, video games and bespoke audio collaborations. Recent highlights include soundtrack recordings for the video game Genshin Impact, a Mercury Music Prize-nominated collaboration with Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders, and appearing on screen and on the Grammy-winning soundtrack for the film Maestro, which was also nominated for multiple BAFTA and Oscar awards.
Through inspiring music, learning programmes and digital innovations, the LSO’s reach extends far beyond the concert hall. And thanks to the generous support of The City of London Corporation, Arts Council England, corporate supporters, trusts and foundations, and individual donors, the LSO is able to continue sharing extraordinary music with as many people as possible, across London and the world.
On Stage
Leader
Andrej Power
First Violins
Savva Zverev
Clare Duckworth
Ginette Decuyper
Maxine Kwok
William Melvin
Stefano Mengoli
Claire Parfitt
Elizabeth Pigram
Laurent Quénelle
Harriet Rayfield
Sylvain Vasseur
Rhys Watkins
Dániel Mészöly
Hilary Jane Parker
Julia Rumley
Second Violins
Thomas Norris
Sarah Quinn
Miya Väisänen
Matthew Gardner
Naoko Keatley
Alix Lagasse
Belinda McFarlane
Csilla Pogány
Caroline Durham*
Mitzi Gardner
Aleem Kandour
Gordon MacKay
Polina Makhina
José Nuno Matias
Djumash Poulsen
Violas
Eivind Ringstad
Gillianne Haddow
Anna Bastow
Germán Clavijo
Thomas Beer
Steve Doman
Julia O'Riordan
Robert Turner
Mizuho Ueyama
Michelle Bruil
Errika Collins
Xinyuan He*
Elisabeth Varlow
Cellos
David Cohen
Laure Le Dantec
Salvador Bolón
Daniel Gardner
Joanna Twaddle
Anna Beryl
Silvestrs Kalnins
Young In Na
Miwa Rosso
Victoria Simonsen
Double Basses
Rodrigo Moro Martín
Patrick Laurence
Joe Melvin
Jani Pensola
Tom Amigoni*
Matthew Gaffney
William Puhr
Adam Wynter
* LSO String Experience Scheme Member
Kindly supported by the Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust, the Idlewild Trust, The Thriplow Charitable Trust and The Thistle Trust.
Flutes
Gareth Davies
Amy Yule
Imogen Royce
Piccolo
Patricia Moynihan
Oboes
Juliana Koch
Olivier Stankiewicz
Rosie Jenkins
Cor Anglais
Maxwell Spiers
Clarinets
Chris Richards
Chi-Yu Mo
Bassoons
Rachel Gough
Joost Bosdijk
Contrabassoon
Martin Field
Horns
Timothy Jones
Mihajlo Bulajic
Angela Barnes
Jake Parker
Jonathan Maloney
Trumpets
Sam Dusinberre
Adam Wright
Katie Smith
Trombones
Rebecca Smith
Jonathan Hollick
Bass Trombone
Paul Milner
Tuba
Ben Thomson
Timpani
Nigel Thomas
Percussion
Neil Percy
David Jackson
Sam Walton
Harp
Bryn Lewis
Organ
Richard Gowers
Editorial Photography Frances Marshall
Programme Notes Edward Bhesania is a music journalist and editor who writes for The Stage, The Strad and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama
LSO Visual Identity & Concept Design Bridge & Partners
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