Sir Edward Elgar's Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55 was written in 1907–1908, and dedicated to "Hans Richter, Mus. Doc., true artist and true friend." It was premiered on 3 December 1908 in Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England, with Hans Richter conducting the Hallé Orchestra. It is the only frequently-performed symphony whose main key is A-flat major.
The symphony is scored for three flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes and English h...
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Sir Edward Elgar's Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55 was written in 1907–1908, and dedicated to "Hans Richter, Mus. Doc., true artist and true friend." It was premiered on 3 December 1908 in Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England, with Hans Richter conducting the Hallé Orchestra. It is the only frequently-performed symphony whose main key is A-flat major.
The symphony is scored for three flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (including snare drum, bass drum and cymbals), 2 harps, and strings.
It is in four movements:
While Elgar never explicitly stated a programme for the symphony, it has been suggested that the work was inspired by the death of General Charles George Gordon: its "Eroica" character parallels the similar Beethoven symphony which was, according to the story, originally dedicated to Napoleon. In 1899 Elgar wrote...
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