Edwar Elgar sat down at the piano after a tiring day of lessons and played a random melody that caught his wife’s attention. Without further ado, he began to improvise variations on this enchanting melody, inspired by the different characters of his friends and activities around him: a »gruff disposition«, a »stuttering girlfriend«, his first attempts at playing the piano, a dog tumbling down an embankment, or – not to be forgotten – the world-famous »Nimrod« variation, with which Elgar honours his best friend. The solution to the riddle, the enigma of the variations, which according to Elgar is hidden within the composition, remains unsolved to this day.

NDR Youth Symphony Orchestra

Mar 11, 2026

NDR Youth Symphony Orchestra / Stefan Geiger

NDR Youth Symphony Orchestra