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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Composer of the Week: Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Episode 2: Cracking the Enigma

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Episode 2

Episode 2: Cracking the Enigma

Cracking the Enigma

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Edward Elgar (1857-1934), Cracking the Enigma

Donald Macleod focuses on two works: the Enigma Variations and The Dream of Gerontius.

Donald Macleod focuses on two works by Elgar: the Enigma Variations and The Dream of Gerontius.

Celebrating British Music: Donald Macleod explores the life and work of the 'quintessentially English' composer, Edward Elgar, whose musical roots lay firmly in Europe, and whose Catholicism and class background bequeathed him a lifelong sense of isolation from mainstream British society.

Today's programme focuses on two works: the Enigma Variations and The Dream of Gerontius. The former grew out of Elgar's musical doodlings at the piano after a hard day's teaching; the latter from his childhood faith, which was soon to suffer a serious knockback. The Variations were a huge success from the outset, while The Dream had to rebuild its reputation after a disastrous first performance.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Edward Elgar

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of the 'quintessentially English' Edward Elgar, a composer who nevertheless had musical roots firmly in Europe

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Composer of the Week

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Episode 2: Cracking the Enigma

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