Elgar’s The Music Makers, for contralto solo, choir and large orchestra, has experienced a chequered reputation since its 1912 premiere at the Birmingham Fest

This 35-minute work is sometimes thought of as Elgar's answer to his contemporary Richard Strauss' tone poem "Ein Heldenleben." It was given its premiere at the

Music has been seen since the Romantic era as the quintessentially temporal art, possessing a unique capacity to invoke the human experience of time. The Melody