Introduction

Elgar’s beloved Enigma Variations are one of the most popular works in the classical repertoire, and with good reason. Packed full of memorable melodies, each variation of the theme is a musical portrait of Elgar’s friends and family. Tonight, CBSO Collaborative Artist Jess Gillam is on the mic, guiding us through an unforgettable musical journey. A concert experience guaranteed to move you.

First Listen. £5, one hour.
Nothing else sounds like this.

Some music you hear. Some music you feel. There's a difference, and once you know it, you’ll never forget it. Our First Listen concerts are one hour, no interval, and tickets are only £5. Just you, a full orchestra, and a moment that can only happen once.

Each concert is introduced by someone who loves this music and can't wait to tell you why. Someone to guide you through pieces that do something extraordinary. All of them live and powerful and unlike anything else.

First Listen: Beethoven
Tuesday 16 February 2027
Symphony No.3: so powerful it changed music forever.

First Listen: Schubert
Wednesday 28 April 2027
Symphony No.8: brooding, beautiful, mysteriously incomplete.

All concerts in the First Listen series start at 6pm and will take place at Symphony Hall, Birmingham. £5 tickets are capped at two tickets per booker, per performance and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or discount. All other terms and conditions apply.

Programme notes

Enigma Variations

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

It is not surprising that this work, composed in 1899 is Elgar’s most famous and best-loved. The form of ‘variations’ is an attractive one in itself: the composer sets themself the task of reframing, interrogating, or dismantling a melody, while the listener gets to take part in the game by picking out traces of the original theme, and working out what the composer has done with it. In the case of Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ set, there is a warmly biographical element, each variation being dedicated to – and representing – a close friend of the composer’s. Furthermore, while composers often deploy themes written by others – Rachmaninoff’s Paganini set, for example, or Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge – Elgar composed his own. His wife Alice (the subject of the first variation) had heard Elgar noodling on the piano one evening, and remarked that she liked the tune he was playing. Elgar was apparently barely aware he was composing anything, but the tune - slightly hesitant, shifting between major and minor – turned out to be a potent one. Some have pointed out that its rhythm and emphasis fits perfectly to the name ‘Edward Elgar’, the composer perhaps unconsciously asserting himself during his keyboard meanderings.

The ‘Enigma’, however, is not this melody but another – and one which is not in fact heard in the piece. Elgar, who very much enjoyed a mystery, wrote ‘The Enigma I will not explain – its ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed, …through and over the whole set another and larger theme ‘goes’, but is not played’. Another theme, in other words, is apparently implied in counterpoint to the main theme. Many have attempted to uncover this ‘other’ melody (suggestions have included Auld Lang Syne, Liszt’s Les Préludes, and even Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star) but there appears to be no conclusive answer to this particular riddle.

The personnel of the work includes musician friends as well as a country squire (No.IV), an architect (VII) and the organist of Hereford Cathedral (XI), though that movement is more about the organist’s bulldog (including the unfortunate pet’s tumble into a river at the start). The final variation is a self-portrait, marked ‘E.D.U’, or ‘Edoo,’ Alice’s pet name for Elgar. The variations were written not only with friends in mind, but in the style they might have composed were they, as Elgar put it ‘asses enough to compose’. The lyrical No.I, for example, is about Elgar’s wife Alice, whose life was a ‘delicate and romantic’ inspiration. No.VII is dedicated to Troyte Griffith, an architect and amateur pianist, and has the unusual time signature of I/I – suggesting Griffith’s slightly hazy knowledge of music notation. The famous number IX, ‘Nimrod’, was written for August Jaeger, who worked for Elgar’s publisher; Jaeger was supportive of Elgar’s career, occasionally offering him bracing advice. This noble, sweeping variation was in part inspired by a conversation the two men had about Beethoven. Jaeger encouraged Elgar to write a more substantial final movement, which is a celebratory conclusion to this vivid and affectionate gathering of friends.

Programme notes by Lucy Walker.

Biographies

Stephanie Childress, Conductor

Franco-British conductor Stephanie Childress is equally at home in opera and on the concert platform. Childress has received much critical acclaim for her interpretations of Mozart’s operas following performances of Don Giovanni and Le Nozze de Figaro at Glyndebourne. She makes her debut at the Opéra de Paris in Spring 2027 conducting a new production of Don Giovanni and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in December 2026 with a revival of Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Passionate about platforming contemporary composers, this season she premieres Mary Kouyoumdjian’s ‘Keep Your Eyes Open’ with the Tampere Philharmonic, followed by performances with the Milwaukee Symphony, Naples Philharmonic and at the Caramoor Summer Festival. She reunites with genre-defying trio Time For Three for Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3 and conducts Gwilym Simcock’s new triple concerto for soprano saxophone, horn and cello. Further highlights include returns to the MDR Leipzig, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, NAC Orchestra Ottawa, and the Cleveland Orchestra, New World and Utah Symphonies. She will also debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony and Orchestre Métropolitain.

Jess Gillam, Presenter

Jess Gillam is a celebrated saxophonist and presenter who has been invited to play on the world’s major stages since becoming the youngest ever soloist to perform at the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Equally at home behind the microphone, Jess’ award-winning weekly show, This Classical Life, on BBC Radio 3 is now in its eighth season. Jess is passionate about broadening the repertoire for the saxophone, especially in the classical sphere. Recent commissions include Glasslands by Anna Clyne and Dani Howard’s Saxophone Concerto. Jess held the position of Associate Artist of the Royal Albert Hall until 2025 and was an Artistic Partner of Manchester Camerata. An exclusive recording artist with Decca Classics, Jess is the first and only saxophonist to be signed to the major label and both her albums have reached No. 1 in the UK Classical Music Charts. In 2016, Jess Gillam made history after becoming the first saxophonist to reach the Finals of BBC Young Musician of the Year. She has been the recipient of a Classic BRIT Award, a The Times Breakthrough Award nominee and was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2021 for Services to Music.

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

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