ELGAR

Mr. Hurd notes that in 1899 the Enigma Variations roused British music from a 200 year sleep; he remarks also on the renewed interest in Elgar there recently and tries to remove the pomp and circumstance stigma, viewing the archetypical Edwardian as melancholy under his gruff mask. It's a gracious if attenuated portrait (there are about 30 full pages of text) which has, however, only incidental value for the serious student of music since there is no substantive discussion of Elgar's work, the many music examples notwithstanding. This series is consistently well-produced but the present entry, considering Elgar's comparative irrelevance here, seems by far the slightest.