Enigma Variations - Subsequent History

Subsequent History

Elgar himself quoted many of his own works, including Nimrod (Variation 9), in his choral piece of 1912, The Music Makers. On 24 May 1912 Elgar conducted a performance of the Variations at a Memorial Concert in aid of the family survivors of musicians who had been lost in the Titanic disaster.

Frederick Ashton's ballet Enigma Variations (My Friends Pictured Within) is choreographed to Elgar's score with the exception of the finale, which uses Elgar's original shorter ending (see above), transcribed from the manuscript by John Lanchbery. The ballet, which depicts the friends and Elgar as he awaits Richter's decision about conducting the premiere, received its first performance on 25 October 1968 at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London.

Elgar suggested that in case the variations were to be a ballet the 'enigma' would have to be represented by 'a veiled dancer'. Elgar's remark suggested that the 'enigma' in fact pictured 'a friend', just like the variations. He used the word 'veiled', possibly indicating that it was a female character (Britannia).

The Enigma Variations inspired a drama in the form of a dialogue – original title "Variations Énigmatiques" (1996) – by the French dramatist Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt.